Against all odds
by maximaxx
Summary: Some people get to start at ten, receive a starter on the first day of their journey and get a break once in a while. Guess what? That's not me, so not me. I'm eleven, I was denied a starter, I can't catch a break, oh, and my first pokémon is a magikarp.
1. The first days of bad luck

**The first days of bad luck**

«Alright! Today's the day. » I exclaimed as I got out of bed.

There was no way that I was going to be late on the day I would receive my first pokémon. I had made plans this time. First, do not rely on one electronic device that is sure to backfire on you. No, use the great, foolproof, idea of a doduo singing.

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it worked.

«I am a genius. » I grinned.

My happiness went on for a little while, mostly the time I took to eat breakfast and take a good shower. It just happened that I stumbled onto a note wearing my mother's handwriting.

_I'm sorry for leaving so soon on the day of your departure, my little farfetch'd, but you know how work is these days. Since I know you can be quite the air-head, I prepared your backpack in advance. There are a few changes of clothing in it, some snacks, two or three things you might need for your pokémon on the road and an advance of your monthly allowance. Be careful and remember to write me often. If you don't, I will send Big Eyes on you. _

I couldn't help but smile at her message. For a split second, I wished not to leave. Then I saw the last line.

_P.S. Your bus leaves at **8:30!** Don't miss it!_

_Loves, Mom._

Oh, yeah, there was that part too, I forgot that. I shot a look at my watch. Five minutes…

Maybe I wasn't as much of a genius as I thought I was! Here I was, in the middle of the kitchen with only a towel around my waist and the bus was going to leave in five minutes!

I ran through the house, barged in my room like a donfan, grabbed a pair of shorts like an ambipom, tripped twice while putting them on like a… whatever! , blessed my mother a thousand times for her insight with my backpack, picked up an apple that was resting on the counter (which surprised my mother a lot, seeing as I was not a fan of fruits and veggies) and ran faster than the time I stole a bone from an houndour.

I was not going to be late! I was not going to be late this year too!

Because I'd be damned if I let another year go by before I could become a pokémon trainer! Anna and Allan had already left with their starters last year and I was supposed to be with them. I barely could stop myself from crushing my cellphone between my fingers when Allan called me when he bragged about that fifth gym badge. This time, I know that I will trash the house if I have to wait another year.

I was eleven, which meant that I was one of those odds ones that left for their pokemon journey late!

It was humiliating enough to wait at home while everyone else got to travel around the world by themselves; I was not going to do that for another twelve months!

I could see the bus from there. I had to make it!

I was not twenty meters away, running like a madman, when the wheels started to move.

«No! » I screamed, desperate, one arm reaching forward.

Not this year!

I could feel my eyes watering already. If my dream had to wait again, then I'd… I'd…

…bumped in the bus?

I opened my eyes in surprise. The bus had stopped.

«Huh? »

Before I had the time to process what had happened, I saw a man wearing a blue uniform and a cap towering over me. He was wearing a mustache that clearly was the mark of secret monsters and I couldn't help but notice how buff the man was. I didn't shriek at his stern look, I swear.

Almost…

«Do you want to hop on? » He told me, his gruff rough voice definitely putting him in my mental category called: SCARY!

«H-Huu… Y-yes! » I stuttered.

«Then get on the bus now. I have a schedule to follow. » He ended the conversation (read: one-sided interrogation) and turned his back on me.

Despite the fact that my legs were jelly and my brain was nothing more than pokefood at that point, I managed to follow him. In my mind, there was just one thought: «I made it, I made it! ».

Swablus were barely on as much clouds as I was. I was going to be a trainer after all!

«Sit somewhere so we can get going! » The bus driver's voice blasted away my bliss and I (didn't ) shrieked (again).

Alright, here was my second challenge as a trainer: find a place to sit in a crowded bus.

…not quite what I had in mind…

I walked through the alley, hoping to see an empty seat. I wished there was an empty bench altogether, but that was asking for way too much.

Instead, I saw someone wave a hand toward me. I did not know that person, but the friendly smile on his face was enough of an invitation.

As I sat next to him, the voice of the bus driver came from all directions, as another proof that he was a servant from hell ready to get back at me as soon as I let my guard down.

«We're now leaving Mahogany Town and we will arrive at New Bark Town tomorrow around 2 in the afternoons. Our next stop will be Goldenrod City, at five this evening. Now departing. »

The passenger next to me chuckled when I jolted in surprise. «Well, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you are one nervous kid. » I turned around to take a good look at the guy that had dared mock me.

It was a man that looked just over twenty. How could I tell? Don't ask me, but there was this air of false maturity to him that gave the feeling of an adult, but not quite. That was his most noteworthy feature. Other than that, he looked like an everyday man, with brown wild hair long enough for a ponytail, clear brown eyes, clothes that had to be a uniform for some jobs, because they were hideous (pale green and brown, really? ) and a cardboard box on his knees.

«I'm not scared! » I protested.

«Who said anything about being scared? » His mouth made the most annoying grin I ever saw. Even Allan couldn't piss people off that much with just a fake smile!

«I… URGH! » I groaned, my hands curled into fists on both sides of my body.

«Precisely. » He happily agreed.

Have I said I was happy earlier? Scratch that. HARD.

«Alright, I've been teasing you enough for now. Let's go with the formal introductions. I am Martin Slyder. What can I call you? » He said, very politely, with his eyes shining with interest. To be honest, it reminded me of a pokemon running after a prey, a tasty prey. Though his name did ring a bell…

«You can call me Champion. » I did my best to stop my voice from shaking. It came out as a strong, impressive and self-confident affirmation.

«So you're a pokemon trainer then? Perhaps a fire-type trainer? »

«Huh? Why do you say that? » I tilted my head in confusion.

«I'm referring to the lack of shirt, sock and shoes. That's because of the heat of your pokémon, am I wrong? » I blushed from head to toes. No, I was definitely not a genius.

«Oh, I guess I am wrong, if only from the way you turned into a tomato. » Martin continued, his amusement evident in his eyes.

The next minutes were spent with me searching from the items I was lacking in my backpack. Thankfully, my mom had put more than enough change of clothes for a few days in there.

Then, I faced my third challenge as a new trainer: I had no shoes.

I suddenly found myself trying to look for something blunt to hit my head with. After a while, I decided that Martin would have to do. Killing two fearows with one stone and all…

He did not protest at my unconventional use of his body. That much was a surprise. Then, he proceed to definitely throw me off my game. He looked through his own backpack and gave me a pair of brand new shoes.

«Here, take those. » He said as he handed them to me.

«Huh? …but… how the… why… why do you have those? » My mind was stuck on the fact that a total stranger had given me a pair of shoes out of nowhere.

The fact that they did fit make me think I was facing a stalker.

I distanced myself from him really with a subtlety only an eleven years-old future champion like me could have. Have I mentioned he caught my movement immediately?

«Don't worry, I'm not stalking you. They're just the most common pair of shoes I have to deliver. » Well, I think I can be certain now. I won't be a subtle champion… Then, I caught up what he said.

«Deliver? » The cardboard box made a bit more sense now.

«Yes, I'm a delivery man. I'm supposed to go to New Bark Town to make a special delivery to our dear Professor Elm. Don't even bother asking what it is, I don't know. »

«Oh. » I _had_ wanted to ask… « Wait… are those shoes even yours? » I said, suddenly worried. I did not want to get a pair of stolen shoes out of the blue like that…

«Nope, they're yours now. » Martin replied with a warm smile.

«I'm serious… I don't want a… » I started, before he cut me off with a movement of his hand.

«Don't worry about that. The companies lose merchandise all the time during deliveries, thieves and all. It will just come out of my pay and that's that. » That only made me feel halfway better… I was indebted to someone when I hadn't even received my first pokémon.«Hey, don't make that face. I like you, that's all there is to it. »

«Thanks. » I resolved not to look at him in the eyes for a moment.

«Won't you tell me about your pokémon then? A future champion like you must have a nice team, even if you're not a specialized trainer. »

«Hum… » I blushed again. I had blurted out my dream of becoming champion when he laughed at me, just to shut him up. I had not actually intended to reveal that yet. I was planning to at least have a pokémon before I said it… Then again, he had given me a pair of shoes. I should be grateful. «I'm not a trainer yet. » I admitted with a tiny voice.

«Well, that seems like an important detail. I take it you're going to New Bark Town too then? » Martin smiled again, but, this time, it was not mocking in the least. There was even something warm in his features.

«Yeah… » I hesitated.

«Have you chosen what pokémon you're going to take as your starter? »

«Totodile. » I answered immediately, sure of myself.

«Oh, why is that? »

«Because I need to beat someone. »

«Who? »

«My friend. He's my rival and he chose cyndaquil. I must get a water type. »

Martin suddenly had this knowing smile that made me falter. «Are you going to meet him in New Bark Town? I bet you can't wait to get your first battle together. »

«N-no… he's already a trainer… » I could only say. I was ashamed. I knew that Martin would realize it and would mock me again. Without thinking, I found myself on the verges of tears.

«He's already a trainer? …and Elm only receives starters once a year… How old are you? » Martin wondered, my face hidden by my bangs.

«I'm… eleven. » Here comes the teasing.

Or not.

To my great surprise, Martin did not say a word. Instead, he looked lost deep in his thoughts. When I shot a glance at him, there was not an ounce of mockery in his eyes. I must have appeared surprised, because he ruffled my hair like my dad used to when he was proud of me and spoke with a warmth tone.

«Hey, not everyone starts at the same time. There's nothing wrong with that. So, why don't you talk to me about your rival? How far is he in the circuit? » The change of topic made me flinch, but I answered nonetheless.

«The last time I talked to him, he had gotten his fifth badge. »

«Not bad. » He commented, with a tone that gave me the distinct feeling that…

«You're a trainer. » I said, pointing at him like I had resolved a great mystery.

«I was. Now, I'm just a delivery man. »

«Why did you stop? »

«I was bored. » He said as a matter of fact tone.

I froze. Wait… had he said he had quit being a trainer because he was bored? And now he was a delivery man? Unconsciously, I shuddered, earning another ruffling of my hair. Thank Mew I hadn't brushed my hair this morning. At least, I hadn't lost any time with that.

«Thank you, champ. For the record, I like my job. » I rolled my eyes to that. «I'll have you know that I travel even more than I did as a trainer. I meet lots of people every day. I bet I have met that rival of yours at least once. What does he look like? » Martin ranted, apparently annoyed that I dismissed his job.

So much for repaying his kindness…

«He's got this scar on his chin, right here. » I pointed with my finger. « He got that when we were caught by an ariados three years ago. He also likes to wear dark clothes, says it makes him look cool. He used to have blond hair, but Anna told me he dyed it red to match his typhlosion. According to him, it is «blood red, a fiery mane that keeps his enemies on their toes». According to her, it makes him look ridiculous. I can't wait to see that. » I started.

From the looks on Martin's face, he hadn't met him. He seemed a bit too skeptical for that.

«Before you ask, yes, he's a bit of a narcissist. »

«You got me this time. » Martin turned a bit moody. «So you want to get a water-type to be sure to beat your pal, that's not very nice of you. You should not choose your pokemon to fit your situation; you should choose the one you like. »

«No, it must be a water-type. » I insisted, all hesitation and sadness left my voice. «We made a promise. The three of us together would take on the league with one pokémon each. We decided that our journey would be different from everyone else's, we wants our journey to be special. Allan chose the fire-type, Anna took the grass-type and I have to get the water-type. »

«It is an unconventional way to go through the region, I'll admit, but you will have to face many trials this way. In your case, that won't be so bad. Your biggest trouble will be grass and electric pokémon and some totodile can learn some ice moves, but your friend, Anna, will have a lot to watch out against. » Martin pointed out, his speech reminding me of a teacher.

«We knew that, but we believed that we would be able to overcome any obstacle that we'd face. » I replied, but even to myself, it sounded hollow. What use were plans when the first step went utterly wrong? I had been unable to get a starter last year and that had been the end of all this careful planning. Now, here I was, in a bus with a delivery man, one year late, waiting to get my first pokemon, instead of beating gyms after gyms like Allan.

We went on to talking after that, but it was mostly about the stuff that was everyone's daily life. Nothing too interesting. Believe it or not, but when we reached Goldenrod City, I felt like I had known Martin forever. The bus driver, whom I know was secretly after my soul, said that we'd take an hour long break, him to get more fuel for the bus, us to prevent being too antsy when we would be on the course, others had their own reasons for getting off the bus.

Martin, for example, said he needed to stop at the pokémon center of the city, to fill some papers and break out a misunderstanding (apparently).So, judging it would be boring to follow him there (and sad because I still didn't have my starter), I decided to visit a little, this time putting an alarm on my watch fifteen minutes before I would need to go back to the bus. There was no way I was going to mess up _now_.

I walked up the main street, not wanting to get lost. That would be just as stupid as being late.

Soon enough, I got a glimpse of the gym. At the sight of the building, I felt a brutal spike of jealousy against Allan and Anna, both of which I knew had already won here. It was not fair! It was also my own fault, last year, but still… How I longed for the feeling of a pokéball in my hand, just as I would get ready to trash the place and get my badges. That kind of desire… it was almost violent. It was also extremely obvious, if I was to believe the girl that walked up to me from the gym.

«Are you going to challenge Whitney or not? » The gym trainer looked at me in annoyance.

Wow, was that normal or did she just have a bad day?

«I… I don't have any pokemon yet. » I admitted reluctantly.

At that, she frowned and judged me from head to toes. That look really made me shiver.

«Then why are you here? » She all but snarled at me. I swore I saw her nostrils fume.

Note to self: stay away from crazy girls. They're scary.

Other note to self: make sure to completely trash her in battle.

I left the place with an uneasy feeling, even with all my determination to later come here and win. Really, I did not like what I saw here.

«And another trainer has now been declared missing. » A voice came from my left. When I turned around, I saw an open television behind the showcase of a nearby store. Miss Adler, the famous reporter, was hosting her talk show. The images of Allan and Anna floated in my head at the mention of the phenomenon. There hadn't been a lot of coverage in the local newspaper at my hometown, strangely. I had not thought about that for a while. Miss Adler now had my full attention and a tiny part of my mind was praying. «This brings the total of disappearing trainers to twenty-two. The training government has declared today that new measures will be taken to ensure our youth's safety. The nature of such laws is currently unclear, but what is certain is that they must be drastic. Parents are yelling their disapproval at the previously passive government. » She then turned to a man in a dark purple tuxedo. I thought it looked ridiculous and, clearly, Miss Adler too, if only because of the small twitch I saw on her neck. «Do you believe that this decision is only political, Mister Bryan? » I could not quite catch the man's answer, as Martin had startled me by silently sneaking up behind me and grabbing me in a headlock.

«Surprise headlock! » He yelled, just like a regular trainer.

«Let go of me! » I shrieked (I am not proud of that… stupid pre-puberty! ), waving my arms wildly.

In retrospect, perhaps I should have phrased that better.

He did let go of me, literally. My balance being stupidly bad, I promptly met the ground. The pain was less than I thought it would, but I nevertheless let a groan escape my mouth. The positive in that was that Martin's enervating grin faded a little, which was good to know. At least, he didn't enjoy it when I was suffering.

«Are you alright? » he asked, with real concern to boot.

«…I'm not sure… » I said, doing my best to sound wounded, as I massaged my nose. My little plan to guilt trip him backfired spectacularly when he sat on me, grabbed my right leg and pulled.

«You little drama queen! » He snorted. «You're not even bleeding, how can you say you're not alright? »

«Uncle! » I hastily exclaimed.

«What was that? » He asked, loud enough for a few strangers to turn around and look at my public humiliation.

«I give up! » I said, feeling my cheeks heat up under the amused stare of a few witnesses.

Martin decided that it was enough, as he stood up, and offered me a hand. «Let that be a lesson, champ. Drama queens don't become trainers, they become coordinators. Their job is to make the show, not you. » He declared and it was hard to tell if he was serious or not. I decided that he wasn't when he snickered with me. «Alright, champ. Let's head back to the bus, you don't want to almost miss it again, do you? »

With that, he put an arm around my shoulder and dragged me away from the store where Miss Adler had finished her interview with a frown.

* * *

I thanked Martin profusely when we arrived just five minutes before the departure. I definitely would have been late if I had waited for my alarm to ring.

Mentally, I smiled. Fourth challenge, not being late again, completed.

All that was left was to wait until the soulless creature with a bus driver uniform drove me, not to hell, like it obviously planned one day, but to New Bark Town. Martin and I continued to chat for a while, mostly about the things a new trainer needed to know about water-types pokémon.

No, you could not drink the water they produced with Water gun unless you wanted to be sick. Yes, that same water could be filtered and then drank, but it still tasted horrible. Yes, water-types in general could survive on dry land, but that's the same as a human in a desert. Possible, yes, pleasant, no. Yes, they were most likely going to goof off in the first poodle, river and lake they saw, no need to be surprised when it happened for the first time. Yes, they were useful when you wanted to take a shower in the wild. No, they usually didn't mind seeing you in the nude (why I even asked that baffled me…), after all, they were pokémon, but they were some exceptions (wow, that was way too much information). Yes, it was wise to carry a greater amount of water than general when traveling with water-types. No, they did not automatically won fights when pitted against fire-types (that one made me pout…).

When I fell asleep, I, of course, dreamed of a totodile singing perverted songs under a shower in the middle of a volcano.

It was the last time I listened to Martin when he was speaking of pokémon. I woke up late that day, which was weird when you considered that most of yesterday consisted of running after a bus, sitting still for hours, walking for less than an hour and then sitting in the same bus again. If that was enough to make me oversleep, I predicted great trouble for my future pokémon journey.

Martin thought it was the excitement of the day that tired me. I latched on that explanation gratefully, though I still had doubts about it. I think I almost forgave him for the dream when he offered me my favorite snack for breakfast, but the images came back and I sulked some more.

* * *

I'd like to say that the ride to New Bark Town was not a torture, but now that I knew the moment I'd be given my first pokémon was coming, every minute was a torture. Yesterday, it wasn't so bad since it wasn't the day. Today was a completely different matter.

So, as a little vengeance, I played the very mature game of «Are we there yet? » with Martin.

He didn't last more than ten minutes before he started asking other passengers if they could switch with him for just a moment, but, seeing me, they certainly didn't.

It was fun to be the one doing the teasing.

It was less fun to be stuck in a headlock.

Again.

Though, this time, the term «less» was used loosely. I still laughed when Martin begrudgingly grinned at me, calling me a smartass. Needless to say, I was less nervous, just as excited, but much more happy.

I had a feeling this would be a great day to start my journey.

Sometimes, you just get the most blatantly obvious false impressions…

* * *

After one last stop for lunch in a lone pokémon center on the road, during which I ate like an ursaring (according to Martin and three other of our fellow men), I waited impatiently for the time I would arrive in New Bark Town and get that totodile. I had already chosen his name, planned where he would evolved, what moves he was going to learn and was currently lost in my dreams of extraordinary victories over the league (the gyms were not even worth mentioning to a team like us). Martin had taken to write something in his diary (yes, a diary, I think I rarely teased someone that much) while I continued daydreaming.

My heart skipped a beat when the bus finally stopped and the bus driver announced with a creeeeeeepy smile: «New Bark Town, professor Elm's lab, end of the road. This bus leaves at four this afternoon, do not be late if you wish to get to Violet Town. »

In any other circumstances, I would have shivered and felt the cold down to my bones. Right now, I just jumped out of my seat and ran.

This was it. I was going to become a real pokémon trainer. I was going to get that totodile and start my journey toward championship. Professor Elm was outside his lab and I lost no time to get to him.

«Professor Elm! I'm here to get my starter! » I practically yelled at the scientist. I was a bit too excited, some would say. Others would take into consideration that I waited a year longer than everyone else and shut those insensitive know-it-all's mouths.

I had not reached him that I saw him look down.

«Professor Elm. Do you not recognize me? I'm… » I started.

«Yes, I know. » He cut me off with a sad smile. «This is the second time you sent me a subscription for a starter, right? »

I nodded, fighting the sickening impression that he should not look like that.

«I'm sorry. » He said, his voice breaking.

It was as if my heart stopped beating.

«I received this letter from the government this morning. » I saw him show me a sheet of paper, but I could barely see. His voice was distorted at this point. « I am forbidden from handing starters to any trainer until I receive new instructions. » No... «I tried calling you, just like the others, but I only reached your voicemail. » He explained, disheartened as well, but to me, he was just like someone that had just gotten a shiny Legendary.

«No! » I yelled. He could not do that… he just… couldn't do that… «It's not fair! This is the second time! I already failed to leave last year, I can't postpone it again! »

I was crying and I refused to care for one second about others' opinion. I had waited a year, because I was late last time, but now that I'm on time, that I finally reached the place, the stupid government prevented that stupid professor from giving me my starter!

I did not stay to listen to his excuses. I did not slow down when Martin passed me by with his cardboard box. I did not stop until I was out of town and in the woods. It did not occur to me that I should not go out by myself, without a pokémon with me. That would have made me cry harder.

It was not fair.

* * *

«Hey… champ… » Martin waved at me softly.

I barely looked up to see him. I didn't want to see anyone. Not that he would let that stop him.

«You should not be here by yourself, champ. You could get hurt… » He continued.

I could just feel it that he was trying not to say it: «Without pokémon to protect you. » It was so obvious. I wanted to punch him for that…

He sat by me and I turned my back on him.

Couldn't he see that I wanted to be left alone? He ignored my glares and went on, still talking so softly. Why did he even bother? He had done his stupid delivery, why did he stay?

The injustice hit me even harder when I remembered that he had been a trainer and had stopped, because it bored him.

«WHY? WHY DO YOU GET TO HAVE POKÉMON WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE A TRAINER? » Something sad appeared in his eyes, but I ignored it. He was not the one that had been hurt, I was.

«…you only need to have a water-type pokémon, right? » He asked, like he didn't know that already!

«Yeah, but thanks to that stupid letter, I can't have one! » Yelling made me feel slightly better. It was as if it gave me power over my bad luck. That was just an illusion of course…

Then again…

«Would you still want one if I told you that it would be a lot harder for you than the average trainer? » Martin looked at me directly in the eyes.

I was so taken aback by his question that I stopped talking altogether.

«The letter only prevents Elm from giving out starters. It doesn't stop you from becoming a trainer. The traditional starters are bred specifically to be easy to train for newbies and having good fighting potential. They're the ideal choice for a new trainer. »

I looked at him with round eyes, hurt by the reminder of what I had been refused.

«W-what are you getting at? » I said, voice breaking.

From his backpack, he took out a small blue box and handed it to me. Shaking, I opened it and, to my great deception, it only contained some sort of stick and a rope.

«This is not funny. » I growled at the delivery man.

«Good, because this is an old fishing rod. » He pointed out, taking the stick and stretching it into a cane.

I blinked. A fishing rod?

«There is a small lake not far from here. Do you want to go fish your first pokémon? »

I hugged Martin so hard he swore I broke his ribs.

* * *

«Steady… » He whispered to my ears.

On that, Martin needed not to worry. I was holding the fishing rod like it was my lifeline. Honestly, this was not far from the truth. I dreamed of becoming champion for years. If I couldn't train, I knew I would break down. And to think I had been excited this morning…

«Remember, I only have enough bait for one shot. You have to catch the first pokémon that bites the line, alright? » Martin reminded me.

«Beggars can't be choosers, right? » I replied without looking away.

Yeah, that was another reason I was so tense. One shot at this. Knowing my luck, I was not going to succeed and I would have been given false hopes again.

In the water, we both saw a faint shadow get closer to the line. I stopped breathing, hearing only Martin's repeated «…wait… ».

The forest around us had gotten quiet as well. Great… Was nature going to screw me at the last possible moment?

I saw the line go down slightly and I tried to pull, only to be stopped by Martin.

«It's testing the bait. It will let go if you pull… »

Thank every possible thing in the world for Martin's experience. By myself, I would have screwed up.

Not that this was a reassuring thought.

«Be ready for when it pulls… » He told me.

I think my heart was about to explode. Who the heck said that fishing was a relaxing activity?

I suddenly felt the pokémon pull on the line and I nearly fell in the lake in surprise. Martin's arms were all that prevented me from slipping on the spot. I think I never used that much strength in all my life, even when I had gotten in a fight with Allan. That was not even close…

Already, I could catch a glimpse of my pokémon's tail over the splashes of water. My strength doubled and I wondered for a split second how an old fishing rod could support that much tension without breaking. Whatever water-type it was, that thing packed muscles!

When I think back on that moment, I know that Martin was the one that did the most of the work, but, right now, it was _my_ fight for _my_ first pokémon!

One year of waiting. One year of mockery from the rest of the town as the others left before me. One year of dreaming, of biding my impatience to get the starter I wanted… One year wasted by the decision of a bunch of fat people writing stupid laws!

I pulled so hard that the pokémon was thrown in the air, just over our head. Water splashed our faces as it was sent flying outside the lake onto the land. I did it! I had gotten my pokémon, the one that would allow me to take on the Elite Four and the Champion himself!

My thoughts came to a brutal end when I saw it, my first pokémon, the one that was my last hope… A magikarp.


	2. The blue scales of ambition

**The blue scales of ambition**

«P-pokéball g-g-go! » I stuttered as I threw the item without much conviction.

You know things are bad when you hope that the pokémon you're attempting to catch will break out.

My insides tightened when the red light went off and the pokéball stopped moving.

Well, crap… I was not going to become a champion after all…

Funny on how all your dreams can shatter even when you get what you initially wanted.

Martin walked to the pokéball without a word and picked it up. I wished he just suddenly decided to keep it. I had promised I would get only one water-type, my starter, and that I would win the league with that one pokémon. At this point, Martin keeping the magikarp was the only way I could keep my promise. Otherwise, either way, I'd become a liar. I didn't want to become one.

It's too bad that my friend couldn't read my mind, because he turned to me with the pokéball. Though with that sorry smile, he probably could guess…

«Well, you… you have your first water-type pokémon… » He said, seeing all too well how much I didn't want to have it.

I stayed silent.

«Aren't you going to take it? » He asked me.

This was it. I could either keep my promise and get a magikarp as my starter or pretend this never happened and be a liar, not to mention I would probably not get another water-type for a while, stupid letter and all.

I did not move.

Martin sighed.

«Look, I know that you probably hoped for something else, but I am out of bait and there aren't any fishing shop in New Bark Town. This is the only pokémon you can get for now. I understand that it's not ideal, but you did say you didn't mind a rough start if you could get a pokémon that way. »

«I… I know, it's just that everyone knows that magikarps… » I couldn't bear to say it.

I just couldn't say: «…are the weakest pokémon there are… »

«…Evolve into gyarados, I know, but… » Martin finished for me, not noticing that I had frozen again.

Wait… Magikarps do evolve into gyarados! They are the weakest, and then they become pokémon that strikes fear into others just by glaring! I imagined myself, standing next to one of those beasts and I was suddenly much happier.

Funny how dreams can suddenly patch themselves together after shattering.

«I'll take it! » I suddenly said, taking the pokéball from his open hand. Beneath the red and white, I could feel the potential waiting to explode into an unbeatable water-type pokémon. I barely stopped myself from exclaiming «My precious… ». I think Martin would have looked at me funny.

Never mind that, he was already frowning at me.

«I was about to say that even if they are dangerous, wild, difficult pokémon to train, I think you can manage, but now I'm wondering. »

«Oh, come on, Martin! I'm not complaining that we managed to fish a magikarp, shouldn't you be happy? » I said quickly, not liking one bit where he was heading. He only massaged his forehead with one head while sighing again. Was he going to make a habit out of that? The surprise headlocks were already a handful, thank you very much.

«I can't blame you for wanting a powerful pokémon, I guess. I'm just worried this magikarp is going to turn out to be more than you can handle. » He said quietly.

«Hey! »

«Alright, I'm just going to give you the update now and, after that, I will respect your decision. » He compromised. I nodded, this was good enough for me. «There are at least three things all trainers have to fear in their career. » He did not look goofy, mature but immature, or even all that nice anymore. To tell the truth, he looked a bit scary. «The first thing to watch out for is a losing streak. I don't mean losing once in a while, I mean losing all your battles for so long that you can't take it and quit. »

I gulped and I felt a small bead of sweat go down my spine. I did not want that to happen to me.

«The second is to be forced with choosing between training and your loved ones. One of my friends was a great trainer, but he had to quit when his father got sick. When he passed away, he had already lost all interest for pokémon training. He simply could not put his heart into it. It was a constant reminder of the night he got that call. » Martin continued and, at that point, I wanted him to stop. This was too… horrible… to think saw what it was doing to me, but he continued nonetheless and I couldn't help but think that Martin was a bit cruel.

«The last thing is to lose your pokémon. There are many ways it can happen, either by dying, by having to give it away or by losing its respect and seeing it leaves you behind. Any of those can break your heart and your faith in your capacities as a trainer. » My throat was dry at this point, I really didn't like that stuff. «With a magikarp, you risk a big losing streak while you start. With a gyarados, you risk to see it lose faith in you if you're not strong enough. That's two out of three and no guarantee against the other one either. Do you want to take that chance and make a big leap of faith? » Martin stared at me intensively.

I knew that if I was half-hearted about this, he would not let me keep that magikarp. I looked at the pokéball in my hand and it felt like it was burning now. Losing, battles and/or pokémon… could I handle it?

Maybe, maybe not, but the point was that I would take that chance.

Slowly, I nodded. At first, there was a hesitation that made Martin cringe, but, as I told him my decision, my own resolve strengthened.

«I will. I am going to take this magikarp and win the league with it. » This time, Martin smiled warmly at me.

«Alright, you've got the guts of a champion, that's for sure. A magikarp as your starter? Man, even I was not that crazy when I was your age. » That made me blush, but I soon recovered.

«Oh shut up! I'm going to be the champion of Johto, just watch me! » I claimed loudly. By the look in Martin's eyes, I was in trouble.

«Well, since you are going to be such a celebrity, I can't just let you go and say I was there when you caught that monster that ripped through the league, right? » He smiled, again with that predator thing. Was Martin even human? Nah, only a ghost-type could be that weird and even then...

«I'd say that's plenty of bragging rights already. » I replied, not wanting to appear nervous.

«Would you, ô great champion in the making, honor me with your first battle? » It was like a stone falling in my stomach. It was heavy and it was enough to make my knees go weak.

If I looked at things logically, I was going to face someone that admitted being a trainer in the past with a magikarp that I had not yet named. In how many ways could this go wrong? I stopped counting after twenty. More than that was just being pessimistic…

Then again, Martin had been a really nice guy to me so far. He would probably go easy on me, give me some tactical advices and all in all, would be a much better opponent than a random trainer met on the road.

«…Okay… » I agreed, a bit hesitant in spite of my reasoning.

«Let's do this then, champ. » Martin grinned as he threw a pokéball in the air. Alright, my very first opponent in battle would be a…

«Ledian! » the ladybug pokémon said, hovering over Martin.

«A ledian? Isn't that a little… weak? » I remarked, not paying attention to the indignant cries of the bug-type.

«Do you really have much room to talk? »

«Touché. » I frowned.

«Besides, Linda is plenty strong and has lots of experience. Don't underestimate her. » He grinned knowingly. As a future champion, I just couldn't let it slide.

«Come on out, huh… » I called, realizing I still needed a name for it.

«Kaaarp. » My magikarp said loudly from the lake. Good thing he had appeared there…

My first thought was this magikarp was bigger than the ones I was used to. The second was that I had yet to see a magikarp with half opened eyes. It gave him a very bored expression and I don't think I liked that in a future water monster.

«Hum… Martin, can you give me a second to think of a name for it? » He nodded, not letting go of his confidence. Way to put pressure on a newbie, Martin!«…are you a boy or a girl? » I asked my pokémon, stupidly if I judged by the loud laugh that came from my left or the skeptical expression on my magikarp's face. I didn't even know they could do that!

«Kaaaaarp. »

«That's really helpful… » I muttered. This was not going well.

«It's a boy, champ. His barbels are tan, which means that it's a male. Females have white barbels. » Martin pointed out, helpfully, but also a bit smugly.

«Hum… okay… what name can I give you? » I sat down, crossing my legs and my arms. «It has to be something big, something impressive. »My magikarp tilted its whole body to the right to make his point. «Woaw… I get the feeling that you and I are going to have lots of fun together, aren't we? » I closed my eyes, just to erase the image of my skeptical magikarp and my smug friend.

A powerful sea-dragon with blue scales… roaring with such intensity that the earth would be shaking… moving tidal waves with a single swing of its body…

I have a vivid imagination, sue me… and I got the perfect name.

«I'm going to call you Leviathon! » I decided.

«Original. » Martin commented and I must say the irony affected me somehow.

«What? It's… it's a cool name! » I turned to him.

«You can say that. It's also not exactly uncommon for big sea-serpents like gyarados.» Martin pointed out and my smile faltered a little bit more.

«…well, that's his name now and, while he's a magikarp, I'm going to call him Levys. See? That's original. » I pouted. At the barely restrained laugh from Martin's part, I just realized what I had been doing.

So much for looking like a cool champion in the making.

Subtle, cool… wow, the qualities I could have as a champion were flying away fast… I had better be more careful with that. If things continued like that, I would end up being the most fashion knowing champion.

«Why did you just shiver? » Martin asked me with a frown.

«Some things are best left untold. » I answered with all the aura of mystery I could muster.

«Karp? » Levys asked.

«Huh… yeah, anyway, your name is now Levys, got it? » I declared.

«Karp. » I decided that meant «yes». Really, who would refuse such a cool name? I mean, _except_ Martin.

«And we're going to battle Martin's ledian, ready? » I asked, trying to look authoritative and failing spectacularly if I believed Linda's snickering.

«Karp! » Levys jumped a little, his expression getting the closest to a smile that a fish could do. That made me warm up inside and I was not sure why.

«Alright, Levys, this is our first battle as a team. » I claimed, fired up.

«Ready, champ? » Martin asked and I put on my most confident grin.

«Go, Levys! Tackle! » I ordered while pointing at the flying bug. Levys just turned to me and looked at me, clearly confused.

Oh crap…

«Champ, magikarps don't learn tackle until level fifteen. Most wild ones are around the level five in this part of Johto. »

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. Martin had said that it would be harder to start my journey without the traditional starters, not that I would have to fight nails and tooth to teach my pokémon _Tackle_!

«Huh… what can he do then? » I asked, not wanting to know at all.

«Splash. » Martin said with a sympathetic, sorry smile.

«Err… Levys, use Splash. » I said, without enthusiast.

My dear first pokémon span on himself once before hitting the surface with his tail and sent a small quantity of water toward the ledian. Linda just shook her head off, not affected in the least.

I could see the title of champion slipping away already. How was I supposed to win any battle with Levys? He couldn't even attack! Giving up right here, right now, seemed appropriate for the most hopeless pokémon training journey ever.

«Hey, champ, everyone starts somewhere, you just have to start a little lower than usual. Think of all the people that get eggs for their first pokémon. They have to teach them everything too. And don't worry; I've seen some trainers raise really powerful pokémon like that. » Martin said.

I'll admit that it did give me a little bit of hope. It was true that training a baby pokémon meant practically the same thing as training a magikarp from scratches. The fact that this course of action was not recommended for newbies went over my head. I had chosen Levys and I would win with him. It just meant lots of training.

And I'd get a really powerful gyarados in the long run. It was worth it.

«Kaaaaarp. » He said, looking at me happily. Right, he had followed my order and he was happy. Hey, at least he was not being difficult. I smiled at my starter.

«Alright, Levys, I know we can do this together! » I cheered, raising my fist high in the air.

«Glad to see you're already completing your first challenge as a trainer. » Martin smiled and mentally, I corrected him. That was already the fifth one.

«You have seen nothing, Martin. » I bragged, too confident in the power of my bond with Levys.

«Okay, let's test it then. Linda, Comet punch. » He called, his pokémon flying straight toward my magikarp.

«Dodge it! » I said, hoping that at least this would not be wasted on him.

Under both Martin's and my eyes, Levys dived faster than we could blink and disappeared under water. Martin's ledian stopped in midair, trying to spot Levys under the surface. I grinned from ear to ear with that stunt he had pulled. Levys was not a pushover when it came to escaping… wait…

«Not bad, champ. I'd say Levys is naturally on the strong side of the balance when it comes to speed. » He declared with an appreciative smile. Put that way, it did not sound as bad.

«Levys! Attack Linda! » Perhaps if I did not say «Tackle», he would do something.

Linda was the first to spot him. Water splashed upward as Levys jump toward his opponent.

«Yes! » I first said.

Levys went straight for her… only to stop a few inches away from her face. He lost his momentum and start falling downward again. That was pretty much the way my lips moved too.

And Levys slapped Linda with his tail, hard.

My jaw dropped at that point. It was hard not to, when I went from excitement to disappointment every five seconds. Unfortunately, Linda was not knocked out, far from it.

«Wait! Linda, don't! » Martin screamed at her.

Too late, the ladybug pokémon punched Levys and a flash of light blinded me. I heard Levys fall loudly in the lake, unconscious. He had been taken out by a Thunderpunch.

«Linda, return. » Martin pointed his pokéball at her, looking sad.

I kneed on the borders of the lake, trying to reach Levys.

«Sorry. I wanted to make this a better fight. I did not want her to use that move. » He told me, uselessly because I had seen what happened. «I guess she was a bit angry at you for calling her weak. »

My magikarp was floating on his side and I was trying to reach him; that was all that mattered right now.

«Levys? » I called. Seeing my starter float helplessly on the side like that hurt a lot...

«Levys… » I repeated, even though I knew that it would be useless.

Or not. At the call, my magikarp blinked and swam toward me. Martin was the one whose jaw dropped this time. «But… wha...? » I heard him say.

Alright, I had the most awesome magikarp ever. He did not know Tackle, but so what? He could take a Thunderpunch and be fine not long after, plus he was kind of fast. He was going to turn out into a really great gyarados, I just knew it.

«Levys, you're the best! »

«Karp. » He replied.

«It's true, he did well for a first battle, even if he did not win. » Martin approved.

The realization hit me.

I had lost.

Seeing my pokémon faint and then wake up had distracted me from that fact; in the end, I had lost. I had lost my first battle. The world wasn't so bright anymore. I had been prepared mentally. I knew that logically, facing a more experienced opponent, with a pokémon I had just caught, my chances were slim. Still, there was this small part of me that hoped. I guess that was just like people in the pokémon casino. Even though the most probable ending was that they would lose most of their money, they still bet because there's this part of them that wants to win so badly.

I was moody when I returned Levys to his pokéball. Martin saw that.

Three guesses as to what he did next.

«Surprise headlock! » He screamed, grabbing my head and inflicting me a world of pain. «What's with that face, you little champ, huh? You lose once and it's the end of the world? Save that for when you are champion! » He jumped into the lake.

I repeat: he jumped into the lake. With me under his arm, if anyone had any doubt.

* * *

When we got back to town, we were soaked, I was tired and I felt like murdering Martin… or maiming him, if the former proved to be too much trouble.

«I hate you so much… » I grunted.

«Oh, come on, you can't stay mad for one little surprise bath. You didn't even have one today. » Martin grinned at me. _He grinned at me!_ That was the last straw. Forget maiming, he was going straight to hell, where he belonged, along with that creepy bus driver.

«You're lucky I had left my bag against that tree! All my money was in there! » I said with a low threatening tone.

«And you're backpack WAS against that tree, so, where is the problem? » He was not really impressed; why would a young adult like Martin with a couple of pokémon be afraid of a kid with only a magikarp? Hum… he was underestimating me, which meant I had a shot at him. I tried not to laugh evilly, but it was hard.

«Oh, but there is no problem, none, at all. » I like to think of my voice then as a silky, smooth and dark melody. Unfortunately, it only made Martin laugh louder.

Dark voice of the evil overlord: not my thing apparently.

«Alright, darth, let's get Levys healed up. I think he got hit badly and you need to register him anyway. » He all but pushed me toward Elm's lab. Scratch that, he _did_ push me, because I refused to go there after the stunt that had been pulled against me by one stupid letter.

Why, yes, I am bitter about it.

Tried as I may, Martin managed to get me to that place and forced me into the actual lab. At that point, it was too late to fight so I went with it, moodily.

«Oh, hello Martin, did you have something else for me? » The scientist started, before he saw me, looking angry. His expression immediately turned sad. «As drastic as it may seem to you, that order was for your security as a young trainer. Many have gone missing already; it is not safe right now. » Those _were _sounds arguments. I just didn't want to hear them.

«Look, I don't care. I caught my own pokémon and I just want you to heal it. Can you do that for me? » I said, rudely, if the frowns I got from Martin and Professor Elm were anything to go by. Why should I care though? I didn't want to be here; Martin had been warned. Elm had it coming.

«Yes, of course. That is something I am still allowed to do. » The message was clear; he did not choose that, he was just following a direct order from the training government. In my defense, I did blush and feel bad about it. I handed him Levys' pokéball with a pinch in my chest. I knew it was stupid, but I felt that by letting him go now, I was going to lose him. «What pokémon did you catch? » He asked us.

«A magikarp. » Martin answered for me.

By the look of surprise on his face, it really was as unusual as Martin had said. I'll hand it to Elm though. He was professional enough not to make any comment and went to his healing machine.

How in the world had someone managed to create a machine that healed any injury with a simple click of a button, in less than one minute?

Even when it did nothing against illness, it was one convenient invention.

When that was done, he took out a water tank and release Levys in it.

«Hum… » He examined my pokémon closely. «This magikarp is not a young one. » «Huh? » I could only say. «He is already four-years old, by a magikarp standards, this is old. Usually, they are killed by predators or they evolve before that. This one didn't… Impressive. » Phew, that just meant Levys was awesome. What else was new?

«Other than that… Hum… I see no signs of illness, the fins and barbels look healthy… » He took out a measurement tape and a small flashlight. Illuminating both my pokémon's mouth and his eyes, he took a few notes on a sheet of paper I couldn't see and went ahead to measure the length of my starter. «I was right. He is big enough to be at least five. At the very least, I can say your magikarp has potential. »

The scientist was escalading my respect ladder fast. Considering how long he had fallen, this was probably a good thing.

«Alright, I will register him and give you your license number. Unfortunately, I am also forbidden from handing out pokédexes anymore, since they were part of the contract that should have given you your starter. » Elm continued talking, to himself at this point. I had stopped listening.

Instead, I was focused on the package that Martin had delivered here. It had been opened already. Using to my advantage that Martin was more interested by that electronic process than I was, I crept closer to the box. «Curiosity killed the meowth», they say? I'm not a meowth and I don't own one, so this shouldn't be a problem, right?

I peeked in the box, subtle enough not to catch either of the older men's attention. The fact that Levys did should not have been a problem.

Emphasis on that «should».

«Karp! » my dear starter called, seeing me move around.

As a reflex, they turned around, with me still hovering over the box.

«Hey! » he exclaimed, startling me, causing the next event. That's right; it was Martin's fault, not mine.

I tripped over the box and it fell on the ground, spilling its content everywhere. That portion of the previously neat floor was now covered with a variety of colored, spherical stones, which I had no ideas what they were supposed to be. To complete my humiliation, because clearly that was not enough, Martin thought it would be smart to clap ironically.

It was not. For the record.

«Sorry. » I apologized begrudgingly. I was fine before he called me like that and made me stagger over it.

Surprisingly, Professor Elm did not scold me. He only sighed and started picking up the stones. One of them just shone when the light hit it and I was struck by the answer.

«Are those evolutionary stones? » I asked, excited. They were supposed to be rare and valuable. Allan had not seen one yet. Take that!

«They are. I lost the ones I already had in the woods some time ago and I haven't been able to find them ever since. They are important for my research, so I had ordered some new ones from Martin. » I would have said something, if not for the sudden noise Elm's computer did.

He turned around and looked at the screen, before giving me the card it had printed. On it was the picture I had sent with the rest of the subscription and an identification number.

«Technically, I should not print these anymore either, but they were not included in the new directives. I guess they assumed that without the traditional starters and the pokédex, no one would really care about this part of the procedure. » He explained to me, again, more to himself than to me. Just then, he returned Levys into his pokéball and handed him to me. «Well, you are now officially a pokémon trainer. Congratulation. » He smiled to me. Yeah, I was darn proud too.

* * *

«A what? » I asked, not sure if I had heard correctly.

«You will need a fish tank to carry with you. I know I told you water-types could live on dry land, but fish-like ones like Levys will only be able to hop hopelessly. You don't want that to happen to your starter every time you start a battle, right? » Martin explained.

That… I admit was not something I had considered when choosing Levys as my starter. My first battle had shielded me from the fact, but he could not fight outside of water. What was I supposed to do in forests or in caves? I knew the circuit went through some…

«I think it's possible to find one in here, but otherwise, you will have to find another way, at least for the time being. » He continued, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach that had returned.

Sixth challenge as a new trainer: not looking good so far.

Thankfully, it was way past four in the afternoon, so the scary hellish creatures that had drove us to New Bark Town was long gone. That way, I knew it couldn't get much worse…

In one of her letters, Anna had said something about «tempting fate». I learned to fear that dreaded power.

The good news was that there was a store that sold aquarium for fish pokémon like Levys that came with its own colored patterns. The bad news was that it was heavy and I had to build it myself. The worse news was that it was expensive. A third of the money I had received from my mom had been spent on the first day on my journey. I was not an expert in statistics, but this was bad.

Want to know how bad? _Martin_ shot me a pained look.

That is all. Oh wait, I forgot the worst news. Since the bus driver was gone and that Martin was done with his business here, it meant that we would travel together until Violet City.

Yeah, I cried too when I heard that one.

* * *

«Well, I didn't think it was possible to mess up eating fast-food. » Martin declared, clearly impressed with my performance.

«Oh shut up… » I said, feeling weak in the knees.

«Seriously, ordering Fish and chips? » He pressed the issue further, having way too much fun to stop. Sometimes, I wonder if I was not wrong to say he did not enjoy watching me suffer.

«I did not know, okay? » I muttered under my breath.

«Where did you think they came from? It's not like it rains Fish and chips from the sky every week. » I had never paid attention to what I ate before. This came back to haunt me approximately five minutes ago, when Martin shot me a weird look after I ordered. I did not quite get it at first, until he told me exactly _what _kind of fish they used for those. Levys would kill me if he ever knew.

Long story short, I was invited by Martin for a snack, I messed up and now I'm kneeing in front of a toilet bowl.

Oh Arceus, I think it will happen again.

Anna had once declared that I had a bad karma. She has to become a fortune teller. She would make millions…

* * *

After that little stunt I pulled, Martin declared that it would be best to stay in a hotel tonight. I would not argue against this one, especially since he had decided to pay for the room. In the back of my mind, I was taking notes of all the stuff he had given me so far: running shoes, a fishing rod, _my starter_, a meal and a hotel room. In one day.

I was soooo indebted to him. I wondered if he planned to make me feel that way, just so I can't say anything when he wants me to do something. That bastard. That generous bastard.

Our room was… let's say… smallish. There were too beds (thank Mew for that! ), but there was not much space for anything else, just one drawer in the corner of the room. While he chose to let himself fall on his bed, the most that was the most comfortable, he said, I went to the drawer. I had an aquarium and I wanted to use it correctly. Now was the time to make mistakes, though hopefully I would not make any. Martin soon came to admire the end result.

«Well, I didn't know you had hidden talents. » He said, eyes a little wide.

Yes, it was perfect. I mentally applauded myself. For all the things that happened today, I could at least say that I was good when it came to assembling aquariums. Filling it became more of a problem though. Martin was the one that got the solution, taking out a sloppy, flexible bag out of his backpack.

«What's that? »

«A water bag. It can only be used to carry liquid. You fill it with water and it takes the shape of a backpack. Useful, no? »

«First my shoes, then a fishing rod and pokéballs, then _this_? What do you _not _have in that backpack of yours? » I asked, incredulous.

«Not much. » And he shrugged… He shrugged! That was no explanation! I wanted a clear answer.«I suggest you go fill it, to find out how much water you actually need to fill that tank. » He said, effectively changing the subject.

As it turns out, full capacity was enough for one and a half aquarium. I gave up trying to calculate how much it meant for just one. Bad at math, remember?

I released Levys in it. He appeared quite happy with his new habitat, saying «karp» a couple of times with a tone that I could only qualify as satisfied. I hope that was not just wishful thinking; I had done enough of that already. I took out the plastic box labeled «Pokéfood; watery deliciousness» and examined the warnings.

«Hey, do you know if I can give those to Levys or are they toxic to him? » I asked out loud, not really caring if he was going to answer me or not.

«I dunno, read the label. They're the ones that can tell you. » Marting shrugged, having taken out a book and being in the middle of a passionate reading.

I blinked. It was the first time he had not known the answer to something about pokémon since I started talking to him. It felt… weird.

Unless he was just taking the easy way out to read in peace…

«Alright… they say that it is perfect for any pokémon in dire need of moist food. It's highly hydrating properties are the ideal choice for water-types of all kinds. I guess that includes you too Levys. » I finished reading and glanced at him.

«Karp. » He agreed.

«You know, we will have to work on communication here. Can't you say anything other than «Karp»? » I asked, half-way serious.

Levys eye's narrowed and he splashed me. Thank Mew I had not gotten another shirt for the night. At least, that was not one more piece of clothing to wash later. «I like that magikarp of yours, champ. » Martin said, from behind his book.

I growled in his direction while Levys made a sound that I associated with laugher.

Great, even my pokémon was laughing at me. I needed that champion title and fast! I was getting annoyed with all this mockery.

«Shut up, Martin. I bet Linda spent her time smacking you! »

«Nope, she was a little angel and a total sweet-heart. She was less trouble than you are. »

That was it, time for plan S! Sulking.

Begrudgingly, I opened the pack and dropped three sticky balls of pokémon food in Levys' aquarium, just like the box recommended for an unevolved pokémon or one smaller than a quagsire. I figured Levys was under that limit and if I was wrong, he'd ask for more. After all, he had survived four years all by himself, that couldn't have been dumb luck all the time.

Though if you counted for how long my luck had been bad…

Observing my first pokémon eat his first meal with me brightened my mood considerably. Every time I thought of Levys as my own pokémon, my eyes lightened up and I had this really powerful urge to hug him. «Karp. » He made that fish smile at me and I found myself laughing lightly. The world felt wonderful.

* * *

Levys ended up finished two of the three balls I had dropped in his aquarium, letting the third one float inconspicuously.

«You're not hungry? » I asked.

«Karp.» Levys replied, swinging his head slightly from left to right.

«Alright then. » I grabbed a small net and took out the leftovers.

«It is starting to get late, you should go to sleep. » Martin commented, his book closed, a chimecho-shaped bookmark barely sticking out of it.

«Late? But it's not even 8 o'clock! » I protested. There was no way I was going to bed so early if mom was not behind me to push me!

«You're a pokémon trainer, aren't you? This means that you go to sleep with the sun and wake up with the sun. Do you expect to see much at 9 o'clock in the middle of nowhere? Don't worry, you'll get used to it. »The delivery man smiled at me knowingly.

This was just like the time he jumped in the lake and dragged me into it. It was as if a wave of icy water had just splashed into my face and whipped my heart. I hated, no, _loathed_, waking up early.

This seventh challenge was going to prove more than what I could handle. Was an average of five out of seven enough for a future champion?

That night, I did fall asleep late, learning that Martin snores and that Levys sometimes swings his tail around in his sleep, causing splashes once in a while. I do not know if they dreamed of anything tonight. As for me, I could only see images of my countless victories, Levys crushing all the competition with his monstrous power. No one dared faced the fury of my gyarados. His body, as blue as the sea before the strongest storms, was a mass of muscle that could move faster than the swiftest water-types, his fangs were so sharp they could crush Steel-types with a single bite and his roars would sent all but Legendaries cowering in fear.

I dreamed of glory and power, as my magikarp slept peacefully in his fish tank.


	3. It's the first step that counts

**It's the first step that counts**

My mother always swore that I was half-zubat, if only at the way I react at light in the morning.

Martin's eyes went wide when I hissed at him.

It was just a reflex. There was no need for him to look for live sacrifices in his bag and mockingly offer it to me. Although I will admit that the thought there _could _be a need for a live sacrifice at one point during my journey made me shiver.

It was definitely a morning of discoveries too, as I made the fascinating discovery that Martin does not take kindly to people that just mumbles and buries their head deeper in their pillows when they wake up. I also found out that his methods for dealing with them consist of water.

Lots of it.

It had been done to me with a full glass, half a bucket, but never with _an aquarium and a magikarp_!

My face was still red where Levys, trying to jump back into his now empty fish tank, slapped me repeatedly. Fortunately, his pokéball was not far away.

Worst morning ever.

Would you excuse me for being grumpy at six in the morning? I was so tired I just knew I was going to fall asleep in the shower. And then I would drown to death and it would be the end of my journey.

That was such a lame ending… now there was no way I was going to close my eyes in that bathroom, even for a second.

Martin said I looked even worse than before, with the blood-injected eyes and the wet blond bangs. My pillow learned to fly just after that.

I needed to teach it how to land on Martin's face and painfully injure him, preferably by exploding. The results were not impressive so far.

«Wow, you're a little teddyursa, aren't you? I swear you're the grumpiest thing I've seen in years. » Martin mocked me, making me blush to the root of my hair.

«W-what? Don't compare me to a teddy bear! »

«Too bad, cub, I've officially baptized you. There's nothing you can do about it now. »

«Yes, I can! » I shouted, throwing my only pokéball into his face with great precision. It then opened and let go of Levys, who proceeded to win more loyalty points by smacking him with a tail a couple of times.

«Ow! I don't think I've ever met someone as grumpy as you before! » Martin exclaimed, holding my pokémon at arm's length. Uncomfortable, Levys was struggling and kept trying to make him let go.

«Levys, return. » The beam of light struck him and he disappeared into the pokéball. «Now, we're even. » It was my turn to grin.

You know you win when the only thing that annoying older guy that keeps teasing you can do is smile at you and approve.

* * *

«…that's it? » I said, putting my foot on the rocky road.

«What do you mean? » Martin frowned in confusion.

«Well, it's the first step I take on the road that will eventually lead me to the Victory road, shouldn't there be… ? » I hesitated, not quite sure how to explain my thoughts.

«Fireworks? Cheerleaders? A sudden and completely irrelevant feeling of enlightenment? That sort of things? »

«Yeah… » I nodded, blushing slightly at how stupid I must have sounded.

«Nah, the world won't stop moving just because one of its future champions is starting his big journey. I understand the feeling though. It's such a big change for you, so why would everything else be disappointingly normal? Oh well, you'll get used to it, the knowledge that, no, you are not the center of the universe. » Martin waved his eyebrows knowingly at me, making me wish to bury my head in the ground.

Or have it covered in sticky web. That works too.

Whoever said that using Stringshot as a way to make your skin look gorgeous probably was a freak of nature. On my list of worst physical sensation ever, this had just gotten the dubious honor of being second, the first being thinking about Fish and chips.

«Get if off, get it off, get it off! » I screamed, hoping that Martin was not bad enough to actually let me…

«Why do you ask me for my help? You're a trainer, now, aren't you? »

He did…

«Spinarak! » I heard a cry that was deceitfully cute.

From between the sticky whitish strings of web that was glued to my face, I could see the body of a green, bigger-than-my-face, spider hanging out from under a tree.

«Urgh, this stuff won't come off! Levys, show it who's boss! » I said, hoping that he would show some initiative.

«Karp! », Levys jumped out of his pokéball by himself and attempted to tackle his target. The fact that he did not know how to use Tackle when he clearly could ram his body into other pokémon was a total mystery to me.

«Do that tail slapping thing! » I ordered, wiping my face with my hands with the feeble hope that it would help against the web. Hint: it didn't!

Fortunately, Levys was having more luck with his task than I was. I know that doesn't mean much, but, for once, that expression could be used without sarcasm.

He swiped the floor with that spinarak.

Or not. I'm not quite sure what happened, sticky web and all, but I think Levys followed my order. According to Martin, the spinarak was sent against the trunk of a nearby tree, which should have been enough to knock it out.

In anger, it shot back some poison stings, which seemed to have shocked Levys more than cause actual pain.

I know, Levys is awesome. Like, seriously awesome.

When he's not struggling on hard ground, that is. I felt a pinch of pain when I saw that. I couldn't tell if it was because of how uneasy my pokémon was or how pathetic it looked.

I kept that thought to myself.

Martin was the one to actually return Levys. My hands were sticky too now and I didn't want to dirty Levys' pokéball as well. When that was taken care of, Martin turned to me with a serious look.

«First lesson in pokémon training: always be on your guards. Unless your pokémon is that intelligent, and as painful as it is to say, some really aren't, they rely on you for battles. You were almost blinded by a wild pokémon and, while I'll admit that this time turned out alright, Levys could have been hurt because you weren't able to give it the right command. »

«Can you help me with this stuff? It's really annoying. » I asked, getting desperate at getting back a normal field of vision someday.

«Here. » He handed me a wet tissue, his face uncharacteristically not joyful. «Listen, this is important, champ. _You cannot go down before your pokémon does_. Since this does not apply to official battles, it is a treacherous notion to learn. It is only in the wild that this applies and it's only in the wild that it matters. » I frowned at that. «If you are knocked unconscious in an official battle for some reason, it will be nullified and no harms will be done. If you are alone in the woods or in a cave, the second you lose consciousness, you put yourself and your pokémon in danger. I mean, true danger. » His gaze shifted to something colder, but, as I stared back, I got the distinct feeling that it was fear.

He was afraid. For me.

It made me uneasy. Those dangers he talked about, it seemed so distant when he told me about them.

Who never heard their mother warn them about the dangers of a pokémon trainer's life? Who never saw news reporting on the injuries a kid had gotten while he was alone on the road?

But the fact that it was just that, _words_, took the reality away from it. It would never happen to me, it simply could not happen to me. It was the certainty I always had.

That look on his face was telling me the opposite. It was telling me that the words were the reality, that I was going to get hurt.

«I get it. » I said, resolute not to let my voice falter.

He nodded, then patted me in the back as his usual smile returned.

«Good. I just want you to be careful. On a completely different story, congratulation, you've officially encountered your first wild pokémon as a trainer. I know you said you weren't going to catch another pokémon, but I think this is still worth noting. »

I said nothing

. «Champ, you're moody… You know what that means… » He leaned closer and a feeling of dread swooped down on me.

«No, you don't! » I yelled as I distanced myself from him. I was not going to get caught this time.

I started running down the road, taking the only chance I had to escape the threat I saw in him.

Note to self: build some endurance.

«You won't escape! » He yelled as he grabbed and lifted me in the air.

I saw the road disappear under my field of vision, then I got a pretty nice view of a mostly cloud-free sky. The rest was lost when Martin used some weird wrestling skills to make us fall on a pile of leaves.

I saw a chance to make him pay right there. I rubbed the most disgusting leaves I could find in his face. He let go of me in surprise and I escaped him.

To an outsider, that kind of scene must have been quite weird. Me, standing at a safe distance from Martin, him, lying in a pile of leaves, his cheeks and nose darkened by some decomposing remains of leaves.

Well, our staring contest must have been something to behold. I mean, even us started laughing soon.

«Would you look at that? The little teddy bear can fend for himself. » Martin claimed, mocking.

«Of course I can. It's not like it's hard to defeat an old guy that delivers box for a living.» I shrugged, grinning smugly.

«I'll teach you to mock the sacred order of delivery men! » Martin jumped back on his feet and grabbed me again. This time however, he threw me on his shoulder, like an old veggie bag.

«Put me down! » I ordered, struggling to get out of his grip. Man, what did he deliver to get that strong? A Steelix?

«No, you _will_ learn to appreciate my work or despair. » He declined, enjoying this ordeal way too much to my liking.

«Alright, I get it. Delivery man is just as noble as pokémon trainer, now put me down! » I conceded, ignoring the fact that my throat was bleeding after telling such a big lie.

So, here I was, future champion of Johto, straddled to Martin's shoulder, to travel on the on the road that would lead me to my destiny.

Said destiny seemed to want to make me a bit more miserable than it should have, since my cellphone started ringing. Grabbing my cellphone from the position I was in was no easy task, but I managed.

«Hello? » I first said. By some sort of stupid bad luck, my tone let the others on my exasperation.

«Sweetie, is everything fine? » Oops. It was my mother.

«Oh, hi mom. » I replied nervously. I just knew what was coming.

«Why do you sound like that? Is something wrong? »

«No, don't worry. I'm just being carried away by a total stranger. » I said without thinking. Martin winced at that and I realized what I had just told her.

«YOU'RE BEING KIDNAPPED! » She screeched, injuring my ears in the process. I swear, my mom must know Supersonic.

«No! » I screamed back. «I'm not being kidnapped, everything's is fine! I'm telling the truth! »

«Don't worry, my little farfetch'd, your mother will not let them get away with it! » She assured me in a fake peppy tone. Behind that was the most thinly veiled threat I had ever heard about. «Where are you right now? »

«Hum… I just left New Bark Town. We're not even two hours away from it. » I answered slowly. I had a really bad feeling about this one.

«Alright, stay strong, sweetie. I love you. » And with that, she hung up.

An uncomfortable silence took place between me and Martin. I don't think he heard the exact replies of my mother, but there was no doubt that he heard her scream the first time.

«You could have phrased that better. » He said, irritated.

«Hey, I didn't think she would react like that. » I shot back. «Besides, if you had let go like I told you, I wouldn't have said that. »

«Is that a vengeance? » Martin snickered. «Wow, I didn't think you were that petty. »

«I… errr… shut ut! Your face is petty! » I totally said, cool and calm and all that stuff…

He sighed of contempt. That was just adding insult to injury.

«Ah, I missed the awkwardness of young teens starting a journey to become great trainers and all the stupid troubles they constantly get into. It sounds to me like you're filling the criteria so far. »

At that point, I just growled in anger and hid my face behind one hand.

«Great, now mom's going to go insane military officer on us. »

«Or she could just call the police. » Martin helpfully pointed out.

«You're not even worried? » I frowned in confusion.

«Why should I be? This is all just one big misunderstanding. » He jumped over a dead tree and the shock cut my breath for a second. « Oh, sorry. »

«I'm going to adhere to my mother's version. » I growled, trying to catch my breath again.

«You wouldn't dare. » Martin tried to call my bluff.

«I totally would, even if it was just to prove you wrong. » I argued back and ducked, a branch being suspiciously near the level of my face.

«Oh really? What would happen then, huh? Do you think your mother would let you leave on a pokémon journey if you say you were kidnapped on your first day? »

That made my shut my big mouth.

Oh crap. Oh _so very much_ crap!

«Since you appear to understand, I won't insult your intelligence any further by arguing with you on that. » Martin put the final nail on the coffin of my resistance. I had lost my voice completely, so he saw it fit to monologue for a while. «Hum… this is going to be long. Usually there aren't any trainers on this road. The wild pokémon are all too weak to be worth it anyway. For now, I suppose it would be wise to train your magikarp some more. You should expect to spend a lot more time than others would in a single area, at least until Levys evolves. »

I said nothing and chose to instead examine my surroundings. I was on the road, going through the woods (on someone else's shoulder, I know) and I was wondering if my mother would force me to come back. Knowing her, she might blame me, say it was a stupid thing to say, that I made her worried.

I wanted to be a trainer, I truly wanted to be one. If I could not fulfill that dream…

No, that was not going to happen and I would rather be thrown into a pit of hungry arcanines than let it happen!

And the first step would be to break free from Martin's grasp!

He must not have been expecting it, because the kick to the guts that I gave him made him loosen his grip and I rolled off his shoulder. I did not take into account the pain of falling on my back and I stood up to get back my bag from him.

Martin did not fight back, he just handed it over to me. He tilted his head to the side, as if evaluating me.

«Wow, you're one contradictory little cub, you know that? It's hard to tell what you're thinking. »

«Well, that's your problem, not mine. » I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest. After all, it was his fault that I was going to get into trouble again. The whole dilemma would not have happened without him acting childish.

Clearly, Martin agreed that this _was_ a problem, but not that it was _his_. He did not say it, but really, who needs words when you've got that kind of skeptical expression sent your way?

«I see. » He said. There was no need for anything else.

«Let's get going. I want to reach Cherrygrove city quickly. » I ignored him and walked past him.

«Do you actually know the way? » He asked and, even from behind me, I could see him smile when I flinched.

«That's what I thought. Follow me. »

* * *

I argued with him at first. How hard could it be to follow a trail through the woods? As it turns out, it's easy.

It's just that sometimes you reach a crossroad.

Since I had been so sure of myself, he told me, I should pick the way to go.

We ended up at a small cottage before a mountain. If we wanted, we could try rock climbing, Martin suggested while holding back a good laugh.

After that, I let him led the way… and swore to buy a map of Johto as soon as we find a pokémarket.

We walked for a day, stopping only to eat, goof off once in a while and fight the occasional wild pokémon (Levys had yet to defeat one, but I was getting hopeful) and answer some of nature calls. All in all, it had been a pleasant journey, even taking into accounts the earlier events.

We settled for camp before sunset.

Another valuable lesson that I learned directly from Martin instead of painful experience: don't wait until it is too late to set camp. When I remarked that there was still enough light for us to go on for a while, he pointed out that we had to gather branches to do a campfire and set up our stuff up for the night, neither option were appealing to him, not in complete darkness at least.

There was this little twinge of guilt that reminded me that he was doing all of this simply because he liked me. I had to admit that without his help, I would have had a lot more trouble with learning the basics.

«Since we're a bit early today, I'll show you where not to look for branches. You'll do it by yourself the next time, alright? » He asked, more to be nice than anything.

I could only nod and add mentally: «Note to self: find a way to pay my debt to Martin someday. »

Turns out, the only thing I should really look out for in forests was Beedrills' nests. A swarm of them could be enough to… well, more than seriously incapacitate a regular adult, so an average pre-teen like me… I gulped down nervously at that.

«Don't worry; there aren't any in these woods. By the time you meet wild Beedrills, I'm certain Levys will be able to take them all on without breaking a sweat. »

That prospect made me smile and I shot a glance at his pokéball, resting against my belt. I could already see it, Levys turning into an enormous, frighteningly powerful pokémon that would wipe the floor with anything that would come his way.

«Hey, champ, I said I was going to show you, not that I was going to do all the work myself! » Martin broke me out of my daydreaming.

It took longer than I imagined, simply because I had not thought it through. In my mind, we only needed to start the fire and maintain it for a few hours at most. Martin agreed with me, but added «only here». More often than not, it would be important for me to be able to maintain a fire all night. Today was just a practice and he said it was normal that we got the usual quantity. I could find nothing to argue against that.

When we made it back to the spot we had chosen for camp, the sun was starting to set and the sky had started turning red in that direction.

«Oops, that took a bit longer than I had anticipated. At least we already cleaned up around here so tonight we will probably get enough rest for tomorrow. » He stated as we put down our wooden treasure.

«So much for being the expert… » I mocked.

«You're welcome. » He grinned back.

«Yeah, thanks. » I waved dismissively. The fact that I was grateful didn't mean I should just jump in his arms all the time, right? If so, maybe I'd be best to forget that promise.

«Are you going to let out Levys for the night? » Martin asked me, dusting off a pillow and a blanket.

«I… I'm not sure… I don't like the idea of him being trapped in his fish tank while we sleep. I-I mean… if something comes and decides to attack him… » I looked around nervously. Magikarps were almost at the very bottom of the food chain. Anything that was big enough to eat them would try…

I felt sick in the stomach. No, I would not let him out while I was asleep. To further make sure I was going to lose it, my mind provided me with an image of me waking up to see his aquarium empty and bloody.

«No! I'm definitely not letting anything bad happen to Levys! » I shouted, clutching his pokéball tightly against my chest.

«Huh? That's great and all, but what exactly did you think of to get so green? » Martin inquired, frowning at my apparently paler-than-usual face. «You look just like you did when you ordered some Fish and… oh. » He stopped.

I nodded, knowing he had understood my fear.

«Alright then, you should keep Levys in his pokéball during the night. Just take him out to feed him and all will be fine. » His tone was soothing and I was a bit grateful for that. It didn't do much, but it felt good to have someone that could understand you.

My mother had never really understood what it meant to be a trainer for me. She had soon noticed how excited I was whenever the champion, of course, but she did not make the link correctly. She had guessed that I was happy to see pokémon in action.

Mom had never understood my goal of becoming the next champion.

When I told her, she had been supportive and promised to help me, and I think my love for her could not have gotten stronger, but she still didn't understand it emotionally. When I started being teased about missing my chance at becoming a trainer, she dismissed it a bit too fast, not seeing how much it meant to me inside. I refused to tell her until she figured it out on her own. It had hurt.

I never told her.

It was silently that I took onto me to rebuild Levys' aquarium. Until he evolved, he would not be able to stay on dry land for long.

As I put on the finishing touch, another problem came to my attention. The fish tank would help me whenever I needed to take out my magikarp, but what would I do when it would be time to battle? Against wild pokémon, that was out of the question and against other trainers… was Levys supposed to fight inside this thing?

What could I do about that?

I really did not know.

«Levys, come on out. » I called, a bit disheartened.

«Karp? » My magikarp's whole body tilted again, showing his confusion. I snorted at that. That was a pretty funny sight to behold.

Who knew magikarps were so expressive? To me, they had never been more than big-eyed fishes that were a bit stupid.

I blushed at my own train of thoughts. How could I think that of my starter's species?

Suddenly, Levys' eyes looked accusing. Of course, that was just my imagination and Martin decided to snap me out of it.

«Weren't you going to feed him? »

«Oh… huh… yeah, of course. » I practically stumbled through my backpack to look for the food I had brought for him. The same thing as last time, at least I knew he liked it enough to eat it. «Here you go, Levys. »

I stopped as I was making the third ball of pokéfood.

«What is it? » Martin asked me, and when I looked up to him, I saw that he was taking out a cooking set.

«Oh, it's just… yesterday he only ate two of the three balls I had prepared. Should I try to give him three again? » I glanced at Levys, who had started eating his food wholeheartedly.

«Here's a piece of advice, champ: ask him. He's the one that knows. »

I blinked and, honestly, I was taken aback. Not by how logic it sounded, but by the fact that the idea had not crossed my mind.

«Levys, do you want more? »

«Karp… » he shook his body left and right, though I think the look he sent to the pokéfood was a bit envious. That wouldn't make much sense, would it? Not more than my pokémon eating less than what should be considered normal.

I wondered if that was supposed to be karma's way of apologizing. I had health doubts about that.

«Well, that answers your question then. » Martin shrugged. I guessed that he probably dealt with pokémon that didn't eat much. «Come here, I'll give you your meal. »

We ended up talking about things of small importance again, not that I was complaining. The last time I talked about my dreams, I ended being mocked by him, so…

«Anna had gotten her fourth badge when she last talked to me. Her meganium seems to be having trouble against a fair number of gyms. »

«That's to be expected. There are a flying, bug, steel, ice and a dragon-type gyms. With only a grass-type, she certainly will have trouble beating the leagues. Such a pity too, Kanto would have been a breeze for her. »

Wow, Anna had been going against those odds and she still managed to get four badges in the process. Not to mention that this whole «one pokémon only» was her idea in the first place. Then she went ahead and chose the starter that would be the hardest.

I think I respected her a little more.

Subconsciously, I shot a glance at Levys, who was lazily floating in his aquarium, without any semblance of attention.

«It looks like it is getting a bit late. We can no longer see without the campfire. I suggest we go to sleep now. » Martin stood up and went to retrieve his stuff. «Good night, champ. »

«'Night… » I said, a bit disoriented by the sudden mood swing.

I returned Levys and added a single log to our campfire. It should last long enough for us to fall asleep.

I was right this time. When I heard that noise in the darkness of the night, I couldn't see a thing and I didn't remember the fire going out.

More importantly, the unidentified noise seemed to be getting louder. To be honest, I started to feel cold sweat run down my spine.

I curled up on myself, trying to make myself as little and unnoticeable as possible.

The rational part of my mind told me that these parts of Johto were host to the weakest wild pokémon there were.

The rest of it was screaming «SHUT UP, IT'LL HEAR ME THINK! ».

At some point, I started seeing lights. Not a full blown light that illuminated the woods, but rather a bunch of small flickering lights that let me discern the shape of the surrounding trees.

My mind (again, screwing with itself… weird...) reminded me of ghost stories Allan loved to tell me. Classical things like a ghastly taking on the shape of a woman that died out of love for her recently passed away husband and that wished to bring all male to the underworld with her to fill the void in her heart or just a gengar stealing your soul and making you fly through a haunted tower like a real ghost.

I think my heart was just about ready to explode when I started hearing a low growling sound as the lights grew stronger.

At that point, I think fainting would have been merciful. Sure, not knowing what killed you was an inconvenient, but I could accept that. Really, anything to make the fear go away at this point would do.

«FREEZE! » A voice boomed in our little camp, making me jolted up in surprise.

I will be honest. I screamed like a little girl. And I think my voice cracked in the middle of had to be the lamest thing I ever did up to now.

I was suddenly illuminated by a ray of light and my eyes screamed murder as well, only they didn't sound nearly as pathetic as I did. The fact that my eyes had no voice to be heard with probably contributed to that.

«Might I ask who you fellas are? » Martin asked, from beyond the space that was in the light.

The two persons (yes, two, I just noticed.) spun on themselves and pointed their flashlights toward him.

There he was, arms crossed as if angry, wearing only his teddyursa boxers and a pair of sunglasses.

I think my brain exploded. At the very least, it stopped working. It was facing a dilemma about whether to laugh or admire him. He looked cool and lame at the same time.

«Martin Slyder? », one of them wondered.

«That's me. And you look like police officers, so, I ask you again: what's the big deal? » It occurred to me that Martin was not one that liked to be woken up for no reason. I pushed that aside though; he was the one always waking me early.

«We heard that a kid had been kidnapped near New Bark Town and was probably heading toward Cherrygrove City. According to the description, it fits with this young man just here. Is there anything you'd like to say for yourself? » The second officer replied, a woman if I judged by her voice.

«Yes, this is a misunderstanding. » He sighed, not at all fazed by the fact that he was being accused of kidnapping.

«How so? » The first one asked, skeptical, as far as I could tell.

«My mom overreacted. I told her I was being carried away, but that was Martin carrying me on his shoulder because of I mocked his job as a delivery man. »

«A delivery man? That's what you're doing now? » I swore the tone was mocking. See? I was not the only one thinking that was a lame job.

«Why does everyone react this way when I tell them that? » Martin pouted.

«Well, whatever the situation is, we still have to take you into custody to clear things up and get your testimony. Grab your things and follow us to Cherrygrove. »

All three turned to me when I groaned in exasperation.

So it was blushing, exhausted and with the feeling that things would turn out very bad that I packed my things and followed them in the middle of the night.


	4. Of misunderstandings and love

**Of misunderstandings and love**

«So you are absolutely positive? » An unknown officer repeated.

Annoyed, I wondered how many times I would have to tell them until they believed me. Gee, did they want me to have been kidnapped? Couldn't they be happy I had not been hurt and leave it at that?

«Yes, I am. I already explained it to you, didn't I? » I did my best to stay polite. They were just doing their jobs… and they had the right to take away a trainer's license temporarily.

«Are you _certain_ he-»

«Give it a rest, Johnson! » Another officer finally called it out on it. «Martin's not our man. The kid said so himself and, really, _Sunny Martin_ would be the guy responsible for the recent disappearances? Fat chances. »

I flinched. Sunny Martin? That definitely reminded me of something. Was Martin someone famous?

That Johnson man was so straight it was like he had a stick right up his… err… shirt, let's say.

«There's already a journalist outside. They got wind on that. If we made a mistake… »

«Hey guys, now that it is settled that I did _not_ kidnap a newbie, can you let me out of this cell? » Martin asked, leaning against the opposite wall.

If it was up to Johnson, he would have left him there just because he annoyed him. That much was laughably easy to see. It was also very scary.

The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. They _had_ wanted me to be kidnapped. To them, it would have been a shining success, not this risible farce.

The woman that had apprehended us earlier came into the room, her traits stretched by the fatigue. She told us that they had tracked us without a minute of rest when they had been called. It had been hours since the moment they wake us up and none of us had been allowed to rest.

«I called his mother. I think she was very embarrassed when I explained the situation to her. She even asked me to send her a fine for the false alarm and apologized formally if it was needed. The last thing she told me was that she was going to call the nearest television station and explain everything to them. »

I smiled fondly at the police officer's explanation.

That was exactly the kind of thing mom would do. Beyond everything, she told me that you had to be responsible to be a good person. Making mistake was nothing; not working to patch things together afterward was unforgiveable.

«Oh, and she added that she was also sorry to have caused trouble to you on your second day as a trainer, kiddo. »

Well, she was just trying to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, right?

For a split second, I really wanted to talk to my mother and tell her «I love you». I even felt myself longing for my hometown and all the familiar surroundings.

I shook my head. No, that was wrong. I couldn't get to Magohany until I was ready to get my seventh badge.

«Is he alright? » She asked the other two.

«Oh, he does that often. I think he's making monologues in his head. » Martin snickered.

I blinked. I really did make mental monologues way too often!

«And he's back to the land of the living. If you had something to ask him, it's now or never. »

I wondered if it was possible to assault him without getting arrested. Hum… knowing him and considering Johnson's attitude, it was best not to risk it.

«Kid, you have our authorization to leave. » The other male officer told me.

«Hey, what about me? You know I did nothing wrong, unless teasing a little trainer counts. »

«Yes, you too, Sunny. We wouldn't want to have to deal with you longer than necessary.»

Did that police officer just admitted that Martin was hard to deal with? So I wasn't abnormal for being annoyed with his antics? On the other hand, that meant I still had to deal with him. True, he had been a great help to me. He had given me a lot of stuff and given me the opportunity to catch Levys. I was an ungrateful little teddybear, wasn't I? I couldn't help it; his cheesy teasing attitude grated my nerves.

He grinned at me and I did my best to imitate him.

«All your belongings are here. » The female officer pointed to a corner of the room. «I just recommended hiding your face behind those scarves before you go outside. » She finished as she handed us out some cheap looking scarves.

«Why? » I frowned.

«Do as she says, cub. Believe me, you'll need them. Want a pair of sunglasses? » He asked as he put on the ones I had seen him with previously.

«Huh… » I hesitated and, visibly deciding I was taking too long, he shoved them on my nose.

The moment we took a step outside the station, we were nearly blinded by the flashes of cameras. Without the sunglasses, I would literally have lost the use of my eyes, I just know it.

«Are you the boy that was rumored to have been kidnapped yesterday? » Some random woman in a scarlet red dress all but shoved her micro down my throat. Luckily, that scarf was an effective barrier.

«Huh… yes, I was… »

«Can you tell us how it happened? » Someone immediately cut us off.

«How long have you been a trainer? » Another journalist asked over the small crowd.

«Just a few days but… » I saw where this was going… I should have just shut my mouth.

«How long did it take for the police to rescue you? »

«Huh? » I hadn't expected that one…

«Alright, you bunch of fearows, leave my little brother alone! » My jaw dropped. Fortunately, no one realized that with the scarf that was hiding my face. I had a feeling that would not have mixed well in the journalists' minds.

Martin placed himself in front of me in an attempt to stop them from bothering me any further.

«Your little brother? »

«Yes, I'm his guardian. Now, move aside and let us get away. You wouldn't want to put that much stress on a kid who has just been kidnapped, would you? » I could tell just by the way he was speaking that he had that semi-dangerous smile on his face. There was some sort of tension in the air after he had said that. I didn't like it.

Apparently, neither did the journalists. They let us go pass them without any further questioning and demanded to enter the police station instead.

When we were at a good enough distance, we decided to take out our half-assed disguises off. I started breathing again too.

«It is official. I don't like journalists. » I declared, shooting a nervous glance toward the police station.

«Nobody does, but they are an important part of the system. They're one of the key against dictatorship. When the journalists are silenced… well, let's just say things aren't going well. » He said it with a smile, the kind that fools no one.

«So, is there any place we should visit in this town? There is no gym here. What else is there in here? »

«Not much, I'll admit. Not for a trainer like you at least. There is a pokémon center and a pokémarket if you need to go at either of those. »

«I do. I need to get a map. » I had promised, so I would get one.

«Do you not trust me? » He sounded hurt.

«I'll have to travel on my own at one point, won't I? Didn't you say we were only going to travel together until Violet City? » I pointed out, trying my best to sound logical and rational.

«Oh. Yeah. I just didn't think it would be your style to plan ahead. You didn't look clever enough. »

Oh no, he didn't! I was red of indignation and he stuck out his tongue at me.

Time for revenge.

«Levys! » Instantly, my magikarp leaped out of his pokéball and slapped Martin twice. For a second, I was certain Levys had this little smugness air around him, but he fell on the hard ground and he started struggling to get into a body of water. There weren't any near him.

«Return. » I called, half-grinning, half-saddened.

I knew what it was this time; I hated to see my ace pokémon struggling like that.

Next to me, Martin rubbed his red cheeks with the same air of smugness that Levys had before. He claimed not to be able to read what was going through my head, right? Well, I could say exactly the same thing about him.

«Alright, champ, let's get you that map. I better be there when you buy it, because I feel that you won't be able to find the store yourself. » He teased me again.

I growled at him, but I did not sick Levys on him again. My pokémon was really uncomfortable on dry land, wasn't he?

Duh, he's a fish.

The pokémarket was unremarkable by itself, but I couldn't gloat much about knowing a much better one. For some obscure reason, my hometown never had pokémarket. All the pokémon supplies that people needed had to be shipped. It was quite inconvenient.

Anyway, so far, the market only contained the very basics. Considering it was supposed to be the first town on the circuit, this was normal, I guess. It's not like newbies would have much money when they started, myself included.

The vendor, a glass wearing man as old as Martin, soon recognized him as the delivery man he was and started talking to him about new supplies and new merchandise that needed to be sent here. Not long afterward, he took out a sheet of paper from his backpack, one that the other hastily filled and signed.

«Thank you, Martin. Do you know when you will be able to make the delivery? » He asked and I could not help but notice how nervous he looked.

«Most likely next week, think you can hold on until then? » Martin said, pouting a little.

«I will have to… » The man sighed sadly.

What was up with that? Weren't the pokémarkets supplied by a company owned by the government?

W-was Martin working for the government?

The same one that had prevented me from getting the starter I wanted.

It was like my vision was suddenly blurred by the anger. I felt betrayed. I could see every time he teased me and every instance in which he mocked me in some way and I...

…saw him helping me fish out Levys.

It was like being thrown into Levys' lake all over again. A cold water rushed to my body and cooled it down greatly. I promptly hid my face behind another shelf. What was I…? I… I hit my head against the wall the hardest I could.

«What the… ? » Martin turned to me, surprised by the loud «thud».

«Oh, it's nothing. » I said with a fake smile. «I just felt like I had to hit myself. By the way, sir, I'm sorry if I disturbed your conversation. »

«That's nothing… » The vendor said blankly, stunned. Just then, he shot Martin a look and I mean _a look_.

It read: «You're traveling with the kid, right? What are you doing? You'll catch the crazy! ». More or less… He didn't look the kind of man with the guts to think that.

«Alright, I think the lack of sleep is affecting you. Come on, get that map and we'll set off for Violet City, deal? » Martin talked cautiously, exactly like to a person locked up in a cell with a nice white camisole. I can't say I didn't like that he was not smug or cheesy, but then again, I had been terribly unfair, if only mentally so…

«Deal! » I tried my best to sound nice. He deserved it.

And I deserved so much more of a beating.

He paid for the map.

Martin. Paid. For. My. Stuff. Again.

It really was time I tried to show some gratitude to him.

«Martin, when is your birthday? » I asked as we walked out of the store, casually and subtle like only I can be.

«It was a week ago. » He grinned, knowing full well what I had tried getting at.

Dang it!

«What about the holydays? »

«What about them? You want to know when those are? » He snorted and I blushed again.

Hand, meet my forehead. Your goal is to express visually how much of a moron I feel like at this very moment. Neck, meet Martin's arm. I have no idea why that is though. Maybe he wants to mock me again.

«Aww, don't be so sad, lil' teddy. » Yup, I was right. «I don't want you to repay me. »

«But… »

«But nothing. I pay for that while I can. If one day I am utterly broke and you happen to have some extra cash, feel free to treat me to a restaurant or whatever, but unless it comes to that, I want you in my debt. » He shrugged it off again.

«You're so evil. » I whined, trying to break free from his ursaring hug… eh, figures.

«That's right! With every little favor I do you, I can guilt-trip you in letting me travel with you longer. Kneel, slave! Mwuhahahaha! » Dear _Arceus!_ Was that supposed to be an _evil laugh_? I'm the _only_ one that gets to laugh evilly!

«No, because my heart is so black I can't be guilt-tripped into anything. You'll just pay for my full journey for nothing. Yahahahaha! » See, Martin? _That's_ how you do an evil laugh!

«We'll see, mwuhahahahaHAHAHAHA! » He replied, laughing louder in my ears.

«Oh we will, yahahahaHAHAHAHA! » I shot back.

«MWUAHAHAHAHA! » He leaned closer to me in an attempt to intimidate me. Fat chance!

«YAHAHAHAHAHA! » I pressed my forehead against his, just to show him who he was dealing with.

We stared at one another, laughing louder and louder, not wanting to be the first one to be out of breath.

A small flash of light almost distracted me.

What did distract me was the slap Levys gave me and Martin.

What made my jaw drop to the floor was what I heard next.

«Karkarkarkarp! »

…my magikarp was _laughing evilly!_

Martin caught him in midair and we both saw the superior sneer he gave us. At first, it was just us biting our lips, then we locked gaze, then we fell to the ground, laughing so hard we both started crying.

* * *

«So, you got the map? » Martin asked, as we were just about to get out of town, with me rummaging through my backpack one last time.

«Yes. »

«Levys' food? »

«Heck yes! » No way was I going to forget the food needed for my awesome magikarp!

«Your own food? »

«…yes… » Yikes… I had some, of course, but I had had trouble finding it. For a second, I thought…

«Good to see you've got your priorities straight, champ. » He said with an amused frown. To that, I only stared at him. Giving up being a trainer to become a delivery man? That was supposed to be an example of good priorities…?

«Alright, off we go then. » He announced.

Just as I was about to step forward and leave town, a form dropped from the sky and dived right at me. Before I could react, a big, scary, noctowl had landed just before me.

«B-Big Eyes? » I stuttered, trying not to feel the weight of that gaze.

He said nothing.

«Is that your pet noctowl? »

«My mom's, actually… » The letter I read two days ago suddenly returned to my mind and, more importantly, one line that stood out.

_Be careful and remember to write me often. If you don't, I will send Big Eyes on you._

«Err… did mom send you here? » I asked, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

He continued staring. That was his way of saying yes. This was also his way of saying that he was pissed off and the way he used to say that he was hungry. My mother could tell them apart.

I had no idea how she did that. I settled for a combination. He was hungry, so that pissed him enough to go look for me.

Somehow, that didn't feel quite accurate.

«I… I've been a trainer for two days! She can't expect me to write to her every two days!» Actually, she probably did, but that's another story.

This time, he hooted his disapproval and I took a step back. I knew what was coming. It was not the first time mom sent Big Eyes after me.

He flapped his wings a few times and, foolishly, I hoped that he was leaving. What he actually did was get out of my sight and plot to land on my shoulder when I wasn't expecting it, which meant anytime.

«Get off, Big Eyes! » I tried to make it let go, partially because his claws were buried in the straps of my backpack and I did not think they could take much ripping…

That failed miserably, the flying-type clearly having something else in mind.

Big Eyes started pecking at my hair and pulled.

It was petty, it was stupidly not worth being so worked up about it, but it annoyed me to no end!

«_Noctalis Orion Finniguan_! Let go of me this instant! » The bird froze in place and I could see Martin eye us with a renewed interest. «You heard me, now _let go! _» I shrieked at him.

Big Eyes flew a few feet away from me and looked at me with wider eyes than usual. Not that this was a difference that could be noticed. His name was appropriate.

«Go back to mom. I will be fine and be careful, the next time you do that, I might send my pokémon after you. I'm a trainer now. » I ordered, feeling better than usual about this.

Of course, the look he gave me so blatantly was meant to express a «Yeah… right. » in a silky sarcastic nerves-grating tone that I lost most of my happiness on the spot anyway.

«So… that noctowl belongs to your mother? What was it doing here? » Martin wondered, not particularly looking for an answer.

«I think mom wanted me to write to her as soon as I got my starter. She wrote that she would send him after him if I didn't. »

«Let me guess: you didn't. »

«Whoa, what a genius! » I exclaimed. «What tipped you off? My explanation? »

«Kind of. » He nodded.

«Why didn't you do anything to help me? » I grunted. He had just stood there when…

...my family's pet attacked me…err...

Still, he could have done something!

«From what you told me, I thought it was your mother's way to discipline you. Who am I, simple stranger, to interfere with your education? » He smirked at me.

«My big brother, that's what you said. Take responsibility. » I crossed my arms and looked away. For a while, he stayed silent and I had to be the one to first glance his way.

I… had not expected that… He was looking at me as if I had said something with a hidden meaning. I was not quite sure what to make of his incredulous expression. Perhaps the way we exchanged glance gave him a clue, which was good because at this point I certainly had none.

«Well, of course I will! » He suddenly lifted me from the ground and started carrying me away from the town. «Don't worry about becoming champion, cub. Your big brother will do all that it takes to help you. »

Was he faking or was that real unaltered ecstasy I could feel radiating from him?

* * *

«I hate rattatas… » I muttered darkly.

«Oh, you poor thing. I guess you really will stay grumpy for the rest of your pokémon journey. Rattatas are very common pokémon. There are even some in cities, being able to live in the sewers and all. » Martin grinned and took a bite of an apple.

I groaned of exasperation. So far, we had met many, many, many rattatas. Sometimes they tried to steal our food in a swarm, sometimes it was just a lone opponent, but they were everywhere!

Levys could barely defeat most of them. Of course, the fact that he was unable to fight on dry land made things horrible as well. There, it didn't matter that Levys was a fast swimmer and his natural bulk didn't make much of a difference when he had trouble attacking.

Once, Martin even took pity on him and sent Linda to finish the job. That one had been more painful than the rest, but even I had to admit that it was taking too long. Levys' skin was starting to dehydrate too much. This pokémon journey was definitely not turning out to be what I hoped it would shape up to be…

«Kaaaarp. » Levys said from his fish tank.

He was looking sad, his eyes were halfway shut and he was swimming closer to the bottom of his aquarium than usual.

«Huh? What is it, Levys? » I sat in front of him.

«Kaaaaaarp, karp kaaarp. » He explained and I could only put a hesitant smile on my face in response. Something told me I should have been able to understand my own pokémon. At least what he meant.

«Err… is this about the battles? » I asked, uneasy with my own incompetence.

«Karp! » He leaped upward and splashed me a little.

«Oh… » I wiped my face clean with the right sleeve of my jacket. «D-do you hate fighting the rattatas? »

«Karp… » He looked away. I blinked. That wasn't right. You don't look away when you are angry with something… it was something you did when... you were ashamed!

«Levys, is it because you haven't won a lot against them? » I asked suddenly.

«Karp! » He swung his tail around to splash me again.

«Levys! » I yelled, indignant.

«Karp karp! » My magikarp was moving wildly in his aquarium and his eyes were narrowed in my direction. Looking at him like that, he didn't seem tamed.

«Bad move, champ. » Martin called, throwing away the remains of his apple. He made not movement to get closer to me and Levys, but his presence was not just a part of the background anymore. «Levys! » His voice clashed like a whip and both me and my pokémon stood there, gaping.

«M-Martin? » I blathered, blinking hard.

«He did not mean it like that and you should know it already. » His eyes were hard and I found myself thinking that I would not want him looking at me like that.

«Kaaaarp… » He whined weakly before letting himself fall to the bottom of the tank

. «Huh? What arre you talking about? » I was concerned about the sudden mood swing my magikarp had gone through.

«You guessed correctly about what ticked him off at first. You just went at it from the wrong angle. » He sighed. «To be honest, basically, you just said in a very patronizing way that he was weak. »

I gasped. That… that was not what I meant at all!

Shocked, I turned toward my loyal, awesome Levys, to see him examining the ground sadly.

«I… I'm sorry, Levys. » I said, my voice shaking.

«Karp? » He looked up quickly, his eyes lightened up by curiosity.

«I didn't mean that. I just wanted to know what… what made you sad… You know I- » The rest was cut off when Levys jumped on me and I fell on my back.

At first I was afraid he was angrier than I thought, then…I saw his face. I swear I lost my breath.

He was smiling.

This was the single most beautiful expression I've ever seen on a pokémon face and the one that touched me the most.

«Kaaaaarp. » He exclaimed and though the meaning of the word was lost on me, the emotion behind it was just universal.

And mutual.

I think I hurt my cheeks when I tried to show my own happiness to Levys. When he retreated to his aquarium with one good jump (induced by a swing of his tail that made my lungs emptied themselves), I was a little hurt. When he splashed me playfully, I started grinning.

That wasn't so bad, I actually liked a splash of water in the middle of a hot forest. What was worse was Martin's teasing, but then again, it was not horrible either. He laughed at a lot of things.

«And here I thought I would witness «a moment». As if that could happen to you, lil' teddy. » He said between two fits of laugher.

Levys splashed him too, for good measures.

It was my turn to laugh and his to dramatically whine at my magikarp for his obvious cruelty.

It was there, in the middle of all that smiling and joy, that a strange thought occurred to me.

Would I still be able to see that kind of smile on a gyarados' face?


	5. Other trainers are a pain in the neck!

**Other trainers are… a pain in the neck!**

We had resumed our traveling and I had kept my sudden unease to myself. It would do me no good to worry about it at this point. We were still far from getting Levys to evolve.

Instead, I focused on more mundane issues.

Like another bunch of rattatas.

This time, we had the luck of being near a small pond and we made full use of it. Levys jumped past me again, in the direction of one of these purple spawn of Giratina.

«Tail Slap! » I yelled.

We decided to call it that. Saying «do that slapping thing with your tail» had gotten old fast, especially after Levys had turned a confused eye to me. Yes, I had stumbled onto the order when I panicked that one time.

The rattata hissed (I didn't know they could do that… ) at Levys and tried to bite him.

Levys answered by spinning horizontally and smacking its face much harder than it normally would have. The little rat fell to the ground with one last cry of anger.

That new course of action worked against us though. With a Tail Slap, Levys could usually get enough momentum to jump backward. To pull off that stunt, he had lost all of it.

«Return! » I called him back, before the rest of the rattatas could counterattack. «And come on out! » He reappeared next to us, his whole body ready for another attack.

«You're doing well so far. » Martin nodded in approval.

«Thanks, but… why is there so many rattatas here! »

«Maybe it's mating season? Or perhaps they're migrating? I don't know. » He shrugged it off. Of course, he had nothing to be truly concerned with. They _were _rattatas, after all. It was only because I was a beginner that it worried me.

«Careful. » He said, and I noticed one trying to sneak up on us.

«Levys! Splash him! » I pointed to the sneaky one.

I had noticed that they were not particularly fond of water. Something to do about how it washed away their scent, Martin told me. Levys rocketed toward it, did as told and smacked it once for extra luck. The wild pokémon fled without asking for a rematch.

«Come back, quick! »

A few others had decided to take advantage of the distance between us now to attack.

«Tail Slap them! » He made it, but just in the nick of time. One of them came dangerously close to biting my arm, raised to protect my body if…

I grabbed Levys in midair and threw him back into the pond. There was no time to lose and he was much more useful from there.

«Yes, you two definitely improved in dealing with rattatas since yesterday. » Martin commented, sitting on a rock, a few meters away from me.

It made me feel proud, even if I knew there was nothing extraordinary about dealing with rattatas. My smiled faded when I saw a much bigger pokémon join in on the fray.

«Ratticate! »

A brownish pokémon ran through the mass of much smaller rattatas. I gulped down, even as the purple rats chose to close the distance between us, encouraged by the action of their bigger companion. Instinctively, I knew Levys couldn't deal with such a monster.

«R-return! » I pointed the pokéball toward him.

To my horror, he dodged it and dove underwater. What would happen next was clear as day, he had done the same against Linda. The ratticate jumped and, simultaneously, Levys leaped out of the pond.

«No! » I screamed, trying to push my magikarp out of the way.

I couldn't see what happened next.

Literally.

A flash of light blinded us all and the ratticate was blown away, crying in pain. When my eyesight returned, I recognized Linda flying in front of me.

«Le! » She stared at the now frightened rattatas, who decided that fleeing was a good idea. The ratticate did the same as soon as it could stand.

In my arms, Levys was gaping, rather comically might I add, at the display of strength from the bug-type.

«Wow, that was actually dangerous. » Martin walked up to me. «That was a matriarch and those things are fiercely protective of their youth. It's weird though. It's the first time I've seen one in this part of Johto. »

«W-what? » I was clenching Levys against my chest, just to make sure he was alright.

«I suppose it really is a time for migration… We should call the police. » He had this puzzled look on his face, as if calculating some obscure things.

«T-the police? For a bunch of rattatas? » I blinked, momentarily forgetting that those same rattatas could have ended hurting me badly had I been alone.

«Yes, of course. Professor Elm might not give out starters this year, but you can bet there will be other newbies like you roaming Johto. This road should not have much more than low-levels rattatas, pidgeys and sometimes bug-types. If calling the police could prevent anyone getting hurt, I don't see why not give them a call. » I had nothing to reply to that and he took out his cellphone.

Luckily, he was not out of range and his call was received immediately. I thought he would explain the situation to them like he had done to me, but no, he simply stated the presence of a matriarch ratticate on the road we were traveling and left it at that.

My cheeks burned at the humiliation. Apparently, I was the only one needing an explanation.

«Alright, put Levys back in his pokéball and let's continue on our way to Violet City. This time, I'll keep Linda out, just in case we meet another ratticate, alright? » He turned to me and grabbed both our backpacks.

After Levys had been returned, I grabbed my things and we started walking North again.

* * *

Not late afterward, we were called out by some guy looking about my age.

«Hey you! » He pointed out to me.

«Huh? Hello… » I replied, unsure of the attitude to adopt.

«Don't give me that! You're a trainer and I challenge you! » He all but yelled at me.

«…What? » I blinked. That came out of nowhere!

«Oh come on! Our eyes met and I officially challenged you, you can't refuse! » The brat put both hands on his hips and started frowning.

I shot a look at Martin and he just pushed me in the back, toward that other trainer.

Limpid.

«Alright, I can't wait to try to fight something else with Levys. » I heard Martin snort at my remark, but I hadn't quite understood why. Was it that funny that I had only gotten to face rattatas upon rattatas?

«Humph, let's just battle! » That guy was seriously getting on my nerves. I sincerely hoped that not all trainers were like that.

«Come on out! » He threw his pokéball between us.

«You've got to be kidding me! » I nearly tore my hair out when I saw the pokémon he had called.

A rattata. Another _marvelous_ (not), _delightful_ (not!) spawn of Giratina!

«Oh no, I'm not. This rattata is the best kind of rattata. He's in the top percentage of rattatas. » He boasted and sounded actually proud.

«Which brings it to the level of an average pokémon, right? » I grinned, one eye twitching and some veins on my forehead threatening me with explosions.

«Shut up! What are you waiting for? Bring out your pokémon, so I can end you! »

«Give me a minute. » I mumbled, taking out Levys' fish tank from my backpack. Martin then handed me the water bag. Frankly, this solution he had come up with was shaky at best. It was also the only one I had for now.

«Alright, come on out, Levys! » I released him and he appeared in his aquarium.

«Karp? »

«You have a _magikarp_? Lame! » He immediately commented. I saw red.

«At least my pokémon will involve into something strong! » I ignored the angry look Levys sent me.

« What? Your rat will evolve into a bigger rat! Whoa! I'm so impressed!»

At that point, he jumped on me and I fought back. His rattata and my magikarp just looked at each other in confusion.

«Boys, boys, keep up the ferocity for the actual pokémon battle which, by the way, does not include you two. » He grabbed us both by our collars and separated us.

He walked up to a point on my right that looked about halfway between that moron and me.

«Since you both look so eager to fight, I'll act as the referee. Both of you only have one pokémon. The first one that faints loses. The winner takes half the money of the loser. Any question? »

I didn't even listen. I was focusing all my hatred on that other trainer and his stupid rattata!

«Alright you two little bloodthirsty kids, let's see what your pokémon are made of. Begin! »

«Tail Slap! » I shouted, not losing a second.

«Tackle! » My opponent responded quickly.

I wanted to eat my shirt in anger. How come _he_ could use it that easily while Levys and I would have to fight tooth and nail to get that move?

Our pokémon both landed a hit on the other, except that mine used the momentum of his opponent's move to return to his aquarium.

«Attack again! » I pointed to the purple rat in anger and I ignored Levys' doubts again.

«Don't lose to that jerk's magikarp! Tackle again! »

«What did you say? » I took a step forward.

«I said that you were a jerk! » He repeated, slowly articulating each word to make sure I had heard him.

«You…! Levys, your strongest Tail Slap, NOW! »

Levys obeyed. He jumped out of his tank and, for a second, he looked like a bird diving on its prey. Perhaps that's the reason the rattata froze.

«Quick attack! » His trainer yelled.

The next thing I knew, his pokémon had just collided with Levys. He let out a cry of pain and I blinked in surprise.

«Again! » My opponent ordered, taking advantage of my stupor.

«Levys! »

This time, I got to see what happened. The rat's speed skyrocketed and he jumped in a straight line toward my magikarp.

Levys span on himself and sent it flying toward his trainer.

When the little pokémon hit the other boy, I just couldn't resist and cheered. It went even further when I saw that it was unconscious.

A little piece of my mind thought it was cruel of me to rejoice at the pain of another being.

«Looks like your rattata can't battle anymore. This means Levys is the winner. » Martin announced.

My euphoria washed away any and all concerns I might have had. I had just won a pokémon battle for the first time.

I hugged Levys, congratulated him and told him all sorts of compliment and just generally underlining how awesome he was. The fact that the arrogant guy then gave me a few bills of money was just rubbing in it. Darn, that felt good!

He left without a single word. Most likely, he was trying to flee from Levys' might.

«Well, isn't that nice, champ? You won against Joey. »

«You know the guy? » I frowned.

«Oh, he's a kid that lives around here. I swear I've never seen him train anything other than his rattatas and ratticates. » He shrugged. «Anyway, you should pack your things if you want us to get to Violet City today. »

It was with a light heart that I once more followed Martin on the road.

* * *

My heart was somewhere about the region of my stomach as of now.

«Levys! » I screamed in horror as he fell under his opponent's assault.

It was my fault, really.

After meeting another rattata trainer, although this one was at least nice (being surprised I only owned a magikarp did not count, or so Martin told me), I just rejoiced when the trainer that challenged me called out a caterpie.

The fight had started well, but then, my opponent, a boy wearing a straw-hat and holding a bug net called Don, ordered it to use String Shot.

I frankly did not make the link until the long sticky web hit me in the face again!

Levys had done well, dodging the attack with a well-timed taunt, but I was not happy.

The worst thing was, I had thought I'd get used to the feeling if it happened to me often. That had to be the dumbest thought I've ever had, no contest.

It was ten times more shiver inducing and only twenty times more physically traumatizing.

I forgot my priorities on the spot. I was in the middle of a battle with another trainer, yet I did not think about what next move for Levys to use.

The other's «strategy» worked perfectly and he knocked Levys out before I could think of anything.

So, there I was, holding Levys' pokéball tightly in my hand, my pockets lighter by half of what used to be in there and on the verges of tears. Oh, let's not forget the web that was still stuck to my face. Of course not…

«Here. » Martin handed me another tissue.

«Thanks… » I replied sadly. I simply had no energy anymore. This was harsher than it should be.

«You know, you should only be that depressed when you start getting a losing streak. Two defeats in four fights is not that bad of an average. » He offered me a hand.

I stared at his open hand without a word.

I supposed he was kind of… right. It was not like it was the end of the world that I lost. Sure it would be bad if it happened to me while I was champion, but, right now, I… I could afford to lose from times to times. It was not like all the champions had been undefeated geniuses from the very beginning, right?

And if they did, well, too bad, I was going to break the tradition!

Martin smiled when I took his hand and stood up.

«Ah, hold that thought. I will prove you that the average you just talked about is meaningless. » I put on my best «show-off» face. Martin was not particularly impressed, but, hey, I could try.

«Sure you will. That's why we're going to accelerate and reach Violet city before the end of the day. » He grinned at my sudden overly excited face.

* * *

It was very hard to hold my head high at the end of the day. To tell the truth, I was tired enough to be grumpier than Martin was accustomed with. That was just one part of it, the thing that made me cringe though was how badly the rest of my day had gone.

First, we met another bug-type trainer (again, who called me out on using only Levys, what the heck, people? He's the coolest!) who owned not one, not two, but _three_ caterpies! To add insult to injury, he had a fourth pokémon, a weedle, that also knew String Shot!

Guess how that battle went.

Yeah, if not for Martin, I wouldn't have gotten to see the composition of that trainer's team. The other guy had been foolish enough to challenge him and Linda gave in to her bloodthirsty instincts.

Then, I realized with a great horror that Route 31 is the home of a great number of bellsprouts! They were not as numerous as the rattatas from the route before but there were more than enough of them to make my brain short-circuited.

Because, you know, it's one thing to lose to another trainer, it's another to lose to an untrained wild pokémon.

I also learned that while Levys was okay when it came to taking normal hits, he had much more difficulties with moves that were super effectives against him.

And the bellsprouts here only attacked with their darn Vine Whips!

«Return! » The red beam of light struck Levys and he disappeared inside the device.

Another bad thing I learned was that aggressive wild pokémon do not stop attacking just because your pokémon is out cold. Adding to this day of great discoveries, Vine Whips are painful, like darn painful. I had a couple of bruises on my arms after that encounter.

Was it humiliating to run away from a bellsprout? Yes, yes it was.

So, here we were, resting in a deserted part of Route 31, with my mood being far from anything joyful. It was even starting to get dark out here and it was getting hard to see things far from us. For example, I could not tell whether I was imagining the silhouettes moving around the woods near us or if they were real.

So much joy…

«Why didn't you do a thing back there? » I resented Martin for his inaction. He could have beaten up that little plant into next month if he wished! If he had, we wouldn't be resting here, all alone in the woods (though on the road, minds you).

«Well, you have to learn some things on your own too, don't you? » He barely looked tired from all that running we did while I was red and panting! «After all, if you have to, by some great misfortune, travel on your own, you have to know how to react to unexpected situations. »

It was not a faulty logic, but I was still angry with him afterward.

«Oh, cheer up, teddy, we're right where we were supposed to go. » He turned my head around… not exactly a nice feeling…

I forgot about that on the spot.

In the distance, we could see a great number of lights, most likely from human occupation.

«Violet City is just around the corner. »

Yes!

I ran. I just ran toward the city. In here was the first gym, the one that Falkner resided in. I had to get my first badge today. This was a mission I gave myself and nothing would stop me from accomplishing it.

Perhaps I should have been more mindful of my limited stamina.

Anyway, the fact that I collapsed in front of the pokémon center did not surprise Nurse Joy more than that… or she was just a really good actress.

«Oh my, what happened to you? » She asked softly. «Were you being chased by a wild pokémon? »

«No, he was just bit too eager to get to the gym, Joy. » Martin spared me the effort of speaking.

Did she just _laugh_? I couldn't quite tell, because she had spontaneously put one hand in front of her mouth and her eyes had glistened with amusement.

Even the nurses mocked me?

«Are you hurt? » She kneed next to me as I groaned in exasperation, though she probably interpreted that as pain. «You have to build up some strength, champ, or you won't get very far on your journey.» He looked at me haughtily, as if he had any right to do that, just because he was… in a much better shape than me… and a much stronger trainer…

Alright, if anyone was listening, I was ready for the answer. Who did I wrong in my past lives?

«Well, I think you need a good night rest before you attempt anything else today. » She declared in a way that sounded just like my mother.

The way that Martin lifted me and brought me in the center was far from motherly though, more like big brother carrying a potato bag.

I hated it when he compared me to veggies.

«Wait! I have to challenge Falkner today! » I shouted, hoping to make them see the urgency of my plan.

«I am sorry, young man, but the gym is closed for the day, it is much too late for you to go and challenge Falkner. » Her tone was sweet again, but there was also some form of deep satisfaction with that.

«Hey, don't worry; we got here just as I promised you. You should let Levys rest before challenging a gym leader, you know? »

Oh crap, I had almost forgotten the state Levys was in.

«Nurse Joy! » I called, getting her immediate attention. Was she sensible to people's distress or was it just her years of experience that told her that this time was a serious matter? Both apparently, since she stopped and turned to me, her eyes showing concern.

«What is it? »

«My magikarp was injured when fighting a bellsprout earlier today. Can you heal him? »

«Of course, hand me his pokéball, please. »

Even being on Martin's shoulder did not hinder me when it came to helping Levys. Giving his pokéball away to Nurse Joy hurt me a little inside, but I suppressed it. Levys' well-being was much more important than a small doubt from my part.

When she disappeared behind her counter with my magikarp's pokéball, I had to fight hard not to jump down and follow her.

Mentally, I slapped myself. She was going to heal him and he would be much better than before.

Martin unceremoniously dropped me on a couch and sat on the next sofa he could see.

«Relax, cub. She'll bring Levys back in no time and he will be even healthier than usual.» He reassured me.

«Y-yeah… » I agreed, even if I still had doubts.

«Then why don't you watch TV while I get something to eat? » He proposed, standing up already.

«Huh? Why would you leave for that? We've got everything in our backpacks, don't we?» I was confused as to why he would do that. Was he planning to find a restaurant or something?

«I am going to prepare us something from the kitchen, of course. » He answered as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

«What? »

«Didn't you know that? Pokémon centers hand over a free meal per day to trainers. I'm going to use that right now and tomorrow morning for breakfast. How does that sound?»

«Good… »

With that, he left me alone in the lobby with my thoughts. I had never really considered this kind of mundane aspects of my journey. To me, a pokémon journey was a few months of epic fighting and triumphs over triumphs. Of course, if I kept winning all the time, money should not be an issue, so would food and other commodities.

With my current record, maybe it would be a problem after all.

I had heard that some trainers would hunt on their way to save on money, but I did not think I would have the heart to do that. Just thinking about… fish and chips…

«Is anyone here? » I heard the voice of a stranger echoed in the empty center.

«Huh… there's me. » I raised one arm hesitantly.

The newcomer was a trainer that looked slightly younger than I did. Purple hair (did he dye it?), brown eyes, normal outfit if you excluded the rock and roll t-shirt, all in all, just another trainer.

He shot me a look that was clearly skeptical.

«Where's Nurse Joy? »

«She's tending to my starter. » I replied, doing my best to look strong. I had not quite recovered from my little sprint through Route 31.

I had not expected him to blink and stare.

«You're a new trainer? » He seemed to judge me carefully. What was his problem?

«Yeah. I got my pokémon just a few days ago. » I tried to disappear in the couch, without much success to my dismay.

«You went to see Professor Elm ? » This time, there was some sort of hidden threat in his stiff attitude.

It would have been nice knowing what I had done wrong…

«Yeah, but he didn't give me any pokémon. » Even under different circumstances, I would have sounded that bitter and angry. «The day I saw him, he told me he could not give me my starter, government regulations and all. »

«I know! This is so stupid! I never had a soft spot for authority but that's just the last straw. » He gritted his teeth as he took a seat and relaxed.

Oh.

«Elm wouldn't give me a pokémon either. Would you believe that? Some trainers are missing, so they stop handing the tradition Johto starters? That doesn't help anyone! »

«I didn't see you in New Bark Town. » I frowned. Was my memory that bad? I thought Elm had called everyone else off.

«Oh, I didn't go there. I live in Goldenrod City and he called me before I could leave. »

That explained it.

«I got my cousin to catch a pokémon for me. What about you? »

«Hum… a… friend helped me fish out my magikarp. » I was reluctant to admit anything else about Martin for now.

Too bad he focused on an entirely different part of my confession.

«Your first pokémon is a _magikarp_? » I could just see him bite his cheeks on the inside just not to start laughing. Normally, I would be angry, but considering how others had reacted to Levys, I was just mildly annoyed.

«So what? He's going to become more awesome than you could possibly imagine. Who are you to laugh? » My tone was not even that acidic. Take that, Martin.

«You do have a point. Gyarados sure are powerful. » He shrugged. «But, hey, I have room to talk. The name's Damian Red and my Regal will be just as much of a beast as your magikarp. »

I was unprepared for the male nidoran that climbed on Damian's head and tried to hide in his hair. Coincidental or not, Regal was the exact same shade of purple as his trainer's hair.

«Cute. » I said with a straight face.

«Now who's being judgmental? » Damian rolled his eyes.

«Touché. » I snorted.

«Hey, since when do you laugh, champ? » I heard an indignant cry.

Coming into the lobby carrying two plates, Martin had come to an halt when he saw me talking with Damian and actually laughed.

«Will you never let me live that _one_ morning down? » I moaned and hit my forehead with my open palm.

«Martin… Slyder? » Damian stuttered, stunned.

«In the flesh, bearing two plates of good ol' steak and with the intent to bring cola afterward. Unfortunately, I didn't know there was someone else in here. » He slyly walked up to us and gave us the plates.«It seems like I will have to return to the kitchen then. » He stated, theatrically. He winked at us once and left again.

«What was that? » I thought out loud. I did not see Damian looking at me like I had two heads. I… mostly didn't.

We started eating and, while the steaks were good, it was very awkward. Martin's interruption had seemed to traumatize Damian out of his mind. He first stared at his food as if he didn't believe it.

It got worse when Martin returned with the aforementioned cola.

Regal had not such qualm and jumped on the table to start gnawing his veggies.

It brought him out of his stupor quickly and he started arguing with his starter. Frankly, the sight of Damian, confident Damian, having trouble with a pokémon not a quarter of his height was something to behold.

«What are you laughing at? Huh? » Damian turned to me with a thug face. Too bad, Regal insisted on climbing back on his head for added effect.

I tried. I really tried, but it was way too hard.

I laughed in his face.

«Laugh this! » He grabbed one broccoli covered in ranch dip from his plate and stuffed it in my face, at the great misery of his nidoran. «This will teach you to respect us. »

«Respect this! » I paraphrased him and threw my glass of cola his way.

From there on, the pokémon center lobby became a battlefield and our supper became ammunition.

Damian was a bit too obvious as an opponent to pose a real threat. I could read into his attacks as he always wanted to make big flashy moves. Regal also had a certain vanity that made him stood out when hiding would have been better. They insisted I was underhanded and fighting dirty.

Unfortunately, our fun ended when our plates no longer had any food in them.

It was shot down when Nurse Joy returned to the lobby carrying Levys' pokéball. At the way her face paled, I interpreted that this meant we went too far.

She handed me my pokéball without a word and left the lobby swiftly.

Both Damian and I were unsure of what to do next.

She returned with two brooms and two mops. Her smile was as fake as it could get. It was a horrifying smile.

«Fortunately, the number of trainers that visit the center these days are dropping enormously, meaning there will not be anyone to watch the damage you have caused. Now, I will ask you to kindly clean up the lobby, like responsible young men. »

We took the objects she was pushing our way without much protest, even if Damian was grumbling under his breath that this was stupid and that she was not the boss of him.

«That's right. Work, slaves! » Martin cheerfully ordered us, leaning against Nurse Joy's counter. Once more, he was showing his true colors, merely the darkest soul ever.

«Shut up, Martin! » I talked back, only for him to take a bite out of his steak and wave his free hand my way.

«This is stupid… » Damian grunted as he cleaned up a spot on the flour covered with mashed potatoes.

«What's wrong? You scared? Can't take a little cleaning? » I said maliciously, a superior grin on my face.

«Oh, that's it, you're on! » He shouted back.

This had to take a good place on my top ten of absurd things I took way too seriously when they happened: my cleaning competition with Damian.

«Eat unsanitary dust! » I passed him by with expert broom handling.

«Feel the wrath of my mop of power! » He soaked the ground in a circle around me.

On the other side of the room, Martin and Nurse Joy were happily chatting about things I couldn't hear. Not that it mattered; I had to win against Damian.

I had gotten my first rival.


	6. The value of a badge

**The value of a badge**

«This is it. » I stated, facing the entrance to Falkner's gym.

I was nervous, extremely nervous, and excited. Come to think of it, maybe I was more excited than nervous about this.

After all, nothing screams «trainer» more than a gym badge. Until you get some, people usually consider you have pets rather than trained pokémon.

Besides I did not have much of a choice. I wanted to be champion and, to do that, I'd need all eight badges.

I was alone, waiting for the sun to rise higher in the sky eagerly. Martin and Damian had both left Violet City already.

«Look, champ. If I want to honor the promise I made to this poor little John and get his supplies before next week, I have to leave now. If all goes well, I will be back next week. Of course, you don't have to wait for me; I'm just saying. »

I frowned, not because I was pissed he was not even going to witness my first fight against a gym leader of course, rather, it was the fact that he still looked incredibly cheerful. Sunny Martin indeed.

It probably meant that he wanted to return quickly and that he got a break from me (I was so not as moody as he described, he was just abnormally happy-going). Anyway, I did not rose from my bed to watch him go, wherever we parted, it would meant the same and my bed was perfectly warm.

«See you later, lil' teddy! » He waved at me one last time.

He left me, just like that, and I felt empty inside afterward.

Damian had not been much better.

«Of course I already have my first badge. It was easy too. » He boasted when I asked if he wanted to go challenge Falkner with me.

«But… you started just a day ahead of me… » I frowned. I was not quite sure if Levys was ready to battle a gym leader. I wanted to, but I was just an itsy tiny bit hesitant.

«Yeah, but I got a pokémon from around Goldenrod, you know? The wild pokémon around there are much stronger than here, so Regal was already strong enough to fight against Falkner when I got him. » Said little purple pokémon had chosen to take a nap in Damian's hair.

I eyed Regal with a newfound respect. It had defeated a gym leader, all by itself…

«Regal was? …you're saying… a wild untrained pokémon that can be found around Goldenrod is strong enough to take on a gym leader by itself? » I felt a headache coming. That didn't sound right. That _couldn't_ sound right. Gym leaders were _strong_, that was the reason they were chosen to evaluate trainers. You had to beat all eight of them to get to the league, but…

«Hey, it's not like gym leaders use their strongest teams against newbies, you know? » He sounded skeptical, like he wasn't sure if I was joking or not.

«Yeah, of course I know! » A lie. «I'm not that stupid! » The truth this time, although one displayed in a positive light. « I just thought that it doesn't say much about a trainer's skills if he can catch a pokémon that is already strong enough to beat a gym leader. » Just as the words went through my lips, I realized I should have phrased that differently, because, you know, Damian had done exactly that. Take that back about me not being stupid.

«Oh yeah? And what does it says about a trainer's skills if he can't make his pokémon strong enough to beat the first gym leader by himself? Huh? »

Crap, I pissed him off.

«Sorry… » I tried a timid smile, but I think he took it as a mocking one.

«Tch, I'm out of here. I hope you'll at least have that first badge when we meet again. Then, I won't feel bad for kicking your sorry little butt. » He stormed out of the pokémon center, making me feel _really_ stupid.

I waited in the lobby for a while. I had nothing to do until the gym opened. I didn't want to tire Levys out just before such an important battle. He had to be at his best today.

I didn't want to lose to my rival, nor break my promises. I swore I'd get all eight badges and face the league with Allan and Anna. Luckily, they had not reached the league yet so I still had a chance. I only had to get stronger faster than either of them and swipe the floor with all the gym before they were done themselves. It was entirely possible, if you considered they only had a five gym head start…

I ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach; it was possible. Yes, possible…

I smacked my face once or twice or thrice (I still felt bad about Damian) and stood up.

«Shut up, logic! Once Levys evolves, he'll be the strongest pokémon ever and we will catch up with Allan and Anna. »

«In that case, I suggest you go find Falkner. The gym should be opening in a few minutes. » Nurse Joy passed me by with a smile and I blushed deeply. I hadn't meant to say that out loud.

It was in no way glorious, but I ran away from the humiliation, that gently snarky nurse and her empty pokémon center.

This is approximately how I found myself waiting alone in front of Falkner's gym, brooding happy and dark thoughts.

«Are you a challenger? » I heard a mature voice ask me.

I turned around and recognized a man in his thirties, blue hair and blue outfit.

Falkner.

«Y-yes. » I stumbled onto the words. He was much more intimidating than I imagined.

«You're here early. » He raised an eyebrow at me and I blushed. «Well, I can't say I hate that, but my gym trainers are not here yet. » He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and I blinked.

«Hum… okay… » Maybe not _that_ intimidating though...

«Well, if it doesn't bother you not to try against them first, I don't mind answering your challenge. » He stated and I smiled nervously. Did I look that much of a newbie?

«Y-yeah, let's do that! »

He only shot me a skeptical look and my heart sunk in my chest. Appearances did not matter, right? So what if I looked like a kid that had just received his first pokémon and didn't actually know the rules of a gym battle and…

Err… come to think of it, maybe THAT little detail should have been taken care of before I challenged Falkner.

He unlocked the door and entered, without so much as a glance at me. I tried to find out if I should be offended or relieved. I decided it did not matter. I was going to win anyway.

«Follow me to this wooden platform over there. » He ordered, his tone perfectly neutral.

I nodded, though I was not quite sure which one he meant by that. The inside of the gym was surprisingly traditional looking. It did not exactly look old, but the vibes it gave me was that of a respectful tribute.

Was it possible to be that moved by a simple building?

«Alright, I suggest you grip one of the fences. » Falkner told me, bringing me out of my weird thoughts.

I did not have the time to do that. He pulled a lever on the side of the platform and all my organs were suddenly dropped at the level of my knees.

We were ascending toward the ceiling at full speed!

It's a good thing I had been too surprised to scream. It would have justified his judgment about me.

When we reached the top (namely, the ceiling, we were _literally_ surrounded by beams), my knees were shaking so hard I could barely stand. Falkner saw it immediately, so much for acting strong.

«One piece of advice for you… next time you give a warning… wait long enough for people to actually follow it! » I gritted my teeth in anger (and fear but he did not have to know that).

«If you don't have any reflexes, I predict a harsh journey for you. » He replied and I shut my mouth instantly. Satisfied by this, he walked up to the other end of what I realized was the battlefield. «Alright, I assume this is your first gym battle. Do you need me to explain the rules of a gym battle to you?»

I nodded, partially because I wanted to use the time to set up Levys' aquarium.

«Alright then. I will use two pokémon, but… what are you doing? » He shot me a confused look as I took out the material needed.

«It's for my pokémon. » I replied, apprehending that he would tell me I couldn't.

Falkner did look quite skeptical, but he allowed it, if only by continuing his explanation without another comment.

«…You may use any number of pokémon you wish. I cannot switch between my pokémon while you can switch once per battle. Returning a pokémon means that you must call out a different one next. Just like a regular battle, the loser must give up half of his money to the winner, though if you win I have to hand out to you a badge and a technical machine. Do you understand? »

I looked up from the fish tank that I had been filling with water at that point and agreed.

«You really are a peculiar challenger, you know that? » He commented, frowning mildly.

«What you have in front of your eyes is champion material! » I grinned and barely restrained myself from jumping. Considering the height we actually were, this was not a good idea.

Falkner smiled drily.

«It certainly is the first time I hear that. » My own smile slipped a little. Ouch, talk about encouragement. Did I catch him on a bad day? Just like that crazy girl in Goldenrod? Somehow that didn't sound very probable.

«You better believe it! Come on out, Levys! » I threw his pokéball in the air, praying I didn't miss his aquarium and consciously not paying attention to my stammering heart. I was actually going to fight a gym leader!

Thankfully, Levys materialized in his fish tank and even seemed eager to fight. Great!

«A magikarp? » Err… not so great.

«I will reiterate my earlier statement: you certainly are a very peculiar trainer. »

«Karp! » Levys jumped around in his tank, irritated by the teasing comment.

«Calm down, Levys. Save your strength for the actual battle. » I heard myself say. Sincerely, I had no idea where this one had come from.

«Well, I suppose it hardly matters if you trained it well. Go, pidgey! »

The little bird immediately took off and started flying over the field. I followed it with my eyes warily. I felt a shiver when I asked myself if Levys could jump that high from his tank.

«The first move is yours. Go! » Falkner said, waiting for me to gather my courage and move.

«Levys, Splash! » I called and my magikarp had the slightest hesitation before obeying me. To me, who was starting to get the unspoken signals that a pokémon used to communicate, it was clear as day. Still it was a little hard to swallow.

Did Levys just think I was a bad strategist?

The small amount of water thrown did not even get to half of the height the pidgey was currently flying.

Falkner's lips curled into an indulgent smile.

«That… was original, to say the least.» Then he looked slightly more serious. «Pidgey. »

The flying-type instantly dove toward Levys, obeying a pattern it seemed to have repeated dozens of times. I vaguely wondered if Levys and I would be able to do that soon.

For now though, it was time to spring my trap.

«Tail Slap! »

«What now? » Falkner muttered.

Levys leaped forward and smacked the pidgey with his tail too fast for the bird to react. The poor bird was (dare I think it?) sent flying.

«Oh, that was not bad at all. » The gym leader acknowledged and I beamed with pride. «That Splash was just to get me to attack first, wasn't it? That's an interesting way to use your pokémon's moves. I will admit that I had no idea that there was a «Tail Slap» attack though. » There was a knowing light in his eyes and I confessed the truth guiltily.

«Hum… yeah, it's not a real move. We made that up. » I suddenly thought that I had no idea if that was illegal in a gym battle. Oh crap! I did not want to be disqualified for that! Even worse, I would be forced to use _only_ Splash!

«Good thinking. » He simply congratulated me.

«I-It's okay? »

«Sure, why wouldn't it be? You see trainers with their own special gimmicks every day, even in official tournaments. It only serves to make battles more unpredictable. »

I let out a very obvious sigh of relief and Falkner half smiled.

«Alright, let's get back to business. Pidgey, again, but stay on your guard this time. »

The flying-type had long recovered and flew in a straight line toward my magikarp.

«Levys, counter it with another Tail Slap! »

In retrospect, what were the chances that a tactic worked twice in a row against a gym leader?

At the last second, his pidgey dodged on his order and Levys only attacked thin air. After that, it tackled Levys to the ground, onto which my poor starter jumped around helplessly.

«Levys! »

«Pidgey, tackle once more. »

The pidgey dove again, its target unable to get out of the way.

«Splash! » I cried in desperation.

To my great surprise and clearly to Falkner's too, Levys jolted and leaped much higher in the air than before. He went passed a very startled pidgey and fell back in his aquarium.

«W-what? » I said, blinking with my eyes wide.

«Splash can be used to hop around for fish-like pokémon, but… it's the first time I see a pokémon actually jump that high with it. » Falkner provided me with a much needed explanation.

«Karp. » Levys moved his body up and down in his way of agreeing to me.

«You really are full of surprise. You are actually making me feel excited about our match now. » I decided to take that as a compliment. The alternative would just make me feel weak and I did not need that in a gym battle.

«Tackle again. » Falkner called.

This time, Levys managed to counter before the pidgey could land a hit.

«Oh, so you both learned to time your reactions just now? Interesting. Let's see what you two can do when things aren't as straight forward. » Falkner grinned.

That made me a bit uneasy…

Falkner pointed to a set of supporting beams around us and the pidgey disappeared behind them.

«Do you have any guess as to what I have in mind? » He asked in a manner that reminded me so much of an old teacher I had. It felt like he was putting me to the test.

Who am I kidding? That was exactly what he was doing.

«No? » He seemed a little sad at my lack of answer. «Here's a hint: we are standing far enough from them to make it hard to try a surprise attack. I could use them to shield my pidgey from harm, but your magikarp doesn't have any long distance attacks, right? »

I nodded, trying to spot the hidden pokémon discreetly.

«Don't worry, I promise it won't attack while we talk. » Falkner smiled at my nervousness and I blushed. «Do you still have no idea about what I wish to do? »

Reluctantly, I shook my head from left to right.

«Alright, I will tell you. Since they are hard to reach, there's a lot of dust on those beams. Pidgey, Sand-Attack. »

My eyes widened in surprise, meaning that when the actual Sand-Attack started, I got sand in my eyes. Other than this _small_ disagreement, the cloud of dust was making it hard to see past Levys' aquarium.

«Levys, can you see the pidgey? »

«Karp! »

I could not tell if this was a «yes» or a «no».

This was _so_ bad!

«Tail Slap! » I yelled, hoping that he would have better luck than me in finding the enemy.

«Tackle. » I heard Falkner say very calmly.

I saw some movement in Levys' direction, but I could not make the shape of anything else. It was too blurry.

I waited for the field to be clear of the dust with my heart threatening to explode with the anxiety.

Levys was looking at me from his fish tank and, Arceus help me, he was so smug that I already knew the result of the fight.

Falkner's pidgey was lying unconscious on the ground.

«Return. » The gym leader called back his pokémon. He whispered something to it that I could not quite catch at this distance, but his expression was warm.

Mine was pure ecstasy.

Levys had won, he had won, he had pulled it…

«Go Pidgeotto! » Falkner threw another pokéball.

…Oh, yeah, he did say he would use two, didn't he?

And this one looked even stronger. Normal, for an evolution, but still, it made me cringe internally, to face this bigger bird when the other had been trouble by itself.

It glared at me and Levys and, for a very embarrassing second, I wondered if I had not just wounded its sibling or something…

If that was the case, I was royally screwed.

«Don't relax now; this one is the real deal. Pidgey was just a cornerstone. If you can't defeat my pidgeotto, then it was all for nothing. » Falkner voice brought me back to my senses.

I had to do this; I had to concentrate and win!

He said it: the pidgey had been a cornerstone. Well, that pidgeotto would be the same.

I shot a look at Levys, which did not look too bothered with the bigger flying-type and it bothered me a little. Oh, I was glad Levys was not scared and all, but it made me feel smaller as a trainer.

But that was just a small part of me; the rest was applauding Levys like the fitting pokémon of a champion that he was.

«I suppose telling you to go first would be useless, considering you will probably try Splash again… » My face felt like it was on fire. I had not planned that, but…«Rules are rules, come on, make your move. »

«Err… » I was wary of what that pidgeotto could do if I was careless. Levys had already been hit in his previous battle, so it was not the time to make a mistake. «Levys, try… »

I fell silent.

I had no idea what to try now.

Levys was tensed, ready to obey my order as soon as it came out…

«Well? » Falkner asked, crossing his arms.

«…Splash… » I ordered with a small voice. Levys dutifully obeyed and Falkner frowned. Oh, it was not by much, but I could not help thinking he was a bit disappointed.

I looked away, purposefully avoiding the gauging glance he sent my way. I kept my gaze on the ground. It was pretty lame of me to use the same tactic twice in a row. It was not like I had tried to…

I almost froze as an idea hit me and both Falkner and his pidgeotto tensed when they noticed.

«Splash again, this time to your left! » I yelled, my voice much stronger than the first time.

The gym leader looked quite curious about us now.

Doing my best not to show my real emotion, I grinned at him in a way I hoped appeared mysterious. «Splash to your right! »

«Alright, either you are good at bluffing or you have a plan. Either way, I am curious. Pidgeotto, Tackle! »

My fear proved to be right, it was much faster than the pidgey.

«Dive! » I pointed to the bottom of the tank, which, by the way, isn't that deep. I think in other circumstances, Levys would have sent me a _look_. However, this time, he just went with it and sank to the very bottom.

The bird immediately changed its course, following Falkner's instructions. Apparently, he had no intention to take the bait, whatever it was.

«Well played… » I commented, a small grin reaching my lips.

«Should I assume that you will have your magikarp wait in that tank until I do something else? Will you order him to use his jumping power as soon as my pidgeotto makes an attempt at him? » Falkner's gaze was locked on me as I placarded my thoughts behind my best emotionless expression.

From the way the gym leader smirked at me, I deduced that I was crappy when it came to hiding my feelings. Cool emotionless champion? No, guess not.

The dreadful image of me as a fashionable champion floated in my head again.

«Why did you turn green all of a sudden? » Falkner asked, concerned.

«Oh… it's nothing. » I shrugged dismissively.

«Of course… » That didn't sound like he believed me… «If that is the case, then I know exactly what I am going to do! Pidgeotto, close in and use Gust to lift the dust again! »

I saw the pidgeotto dive, I saw it glare at Levys and I saw it start flapping his wings much stronger than before. The sudden rush of wind almost threw me down on my back, but what was most important was what it _didn't _do.

«WHAT? » Falkner took one step forward in surprise as his pokémon barely lifted anything.

«Levys! Now! » I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Levys leaped out of his stank, toward the stunned flying-type.

The idea had struck me like a lightning bolt. When I asked Levys to use Splash, I had lowered my eyes to the ground and saw the dirt. Falkner could use that tactic again and it would be easier with the dust needed already on the field.

Too bad for him that I had Levys splash it with water. No clouds, just some messy masses of dark water.

That some of it got in my face was secondary. What mattered was that Levys was about to smack that flying-type into next week!

«Gust! » Falkner responded faster than I thought possible.

My eyes widened as Levys was thrown back and fell not far away from me. Without waiting for my order, he jumped back into his aquarium.

It was a good thing he did. I was too shocked to say a word.

On the other side of the field, Falkner was biting his lips and I couldn't quite understand why. If anything, I thought it could be embarrassment. Not that it mattered, my mind was a blank landscape at this point.

I… I had… no idea what to do next…

Levys' only weapon was a physical approach and that pidgeotto had been fast enough to counter a move after it had been surprised. I couldn't rely on surprise, I couldn't rely on strength and I couldn't think of anything.

A piece of me noticed that Falkner was staring at me and frowning. I would have been stressed by that under normal circumstances. Now? Not so much, seeing as I would not be able to win anyway.

«Nice try, but I have to warn you: I will use this move again shall you try this once more.» His eyes were hard and it made me cringe.

Levys was eying me, as if waiting for an order that wouldn't come. He didn't appear to have given up.

His trust stabbed me like a knife.

I didn't want to disappoint him. He had already gone beyond my expectations for this match, he was still ready for battle, yet I couldn't think of anything.

I was a failure as a trainer. I had to say something. I had to give him a command, _anything_!

«Tail Slap! » I shouted, not even looking at my pokémon as he jumped once more.

The bird reacted without even an order. After all, Falkner had already given his instruction when he taunted me.

What neither of us could predict was how far Levys would be thrown away.

With a horror that far surpassed anything I might ever feel, I saw Levys pass just over one of the wooden fences.

My legs reacted before I could think. My arms reached forward while my gaze focused on Levys' flailing body. My pokémon's eyes were wide with surprise and fear.

I was screaming his name, but I couldn't hear my own voice. I was running at full speed, yet I felt as if I was motionless.

This could not happen. It just couldn't.

My fingers closed on Levys' tail and I practically screamed in relief… Until I felt my center of gravity shift over the fence I was leaning on.

Oh crap.

I didn't have the time to experience what it was like to fall from a two story height. Something tugged at my jacket and pulled me and Levys back on the platform.

Eyes wide, clenching Levys against my chest, I silently stared at Falkner. The gym leader was looming over me and I could not imagine him asking the usual: «Are you alright? ». His expression was dark and… it scared me.

Without saying anything, he pulled the lever from earlier and my heart and my courage were left near that ceiling as we descended toward the ground.

Levys shot me a worried look and the rest of me broke. Even after what I had done, he was worried about _me_? Even after I had…

Arceus! What had I done?_ I risked Levys' life over a gym battle!_

The image of Levys falling over the fence floated in my head… and if I had not caught him in time…

Right there, my stomach rebelled.

«Karp! » Levys exclaimed, some panic piercing through the sound.

My magikarp's loyalty made it hurt even more. What kind of trainer was I?

I was unaware of exactly when I started crying, I just could see the tears falling on my pokémon's scales. Levys called for me again, his round eyes reflecting his own sadness.

During all this, Falkner never looked at me. As far as I could tell, he was livid.

«I am disappointed. » It stung, since he had a perfectly good reason to be disappointed with me. The smiles of satisfaction he had sent my way burned painfully now. «You showed some great promise. A young trainer that challenges me with only a magikarp in a fish tank... it would have been the first time and it would have been memorable. You came up with some innovative way to fight _with a pokémon that doesn't know any attack!_ Bluffing to get me to lower my guard, using _Splash_, of all moves, to counter a future move…those were praiseworthy. » His face was reddening with anger now. «You threw all of that away through the window and kicked it to make sure it would stay down right afterward! I told you what my pokémon was going to do! You _saw_ the consequence of a last-second Gust! Why did you order your pokémon to charge headfirst in that? You disregarded the safety of your own pokémon to win! »

«KARP! » Levys started struggling in my arms, eying Falkner threateningly.

«L-Levys? » I stuttered through my burning shame.

«KARP KARP KARP, KAAAARP! » He yelled at the dumbstruck gym leader.

I stupidly wondered when was the last time a pokémon had started lecturing him. Judging by the absolute stupor on his face, it had to have been a _long_time ago.

I blinked, having trouble believing that I had just gotten sidetracked by that… More importantly, I was receiving a support I did not deserve from the one that had the most reasons to be angry.

«Return. » I refused to be protected by him after what I had done.

Seeing my pokémon disappear brought Falkner back to his senses, but his tone was less brutal than before.

«It is understandable to make mistakes when you start, but this is by no mean an excuse for what you did. You could have killed your pokémon in this battle. When you could not think of a clever way out of the mess you were into, you charged head on, without a second thought for what it could lead to. You disregarded your other options, because you felt like you had to win at all costs. There was only one thing to do in your situation and it was- »

«Give up… » I said, disheartened.

I missed the complete shock that made Falkner's jaw drop.

«I should have given up on the fight and try another day instead. » The shame was more vivid with each word, now that I knew what I ought to have done instead.

«You're… »

«He's my starter, the very first pokémon that joined me, the one that defines me as a trainer. If not for him, I would not be a trainer at all. I wanted to become the next champion with just him and I… I… » The guilt tied my throat and nothing else came out.

A heavy silence fell on us until I found the strength to speak again.

«I had doubts; I did not think we could make it, but Levys surprised me and won. After he had put so much effort in that battle, how could I just… throw it all away? It's my fault… »

Falkner coughed loudly and I stopped talking.

He seemed a bit embarrassed and was scratching the back of his head.

«Whoa… I did not expect that of you. » He seemed torn between a few options. «Quite frankly, I expected you to start protesting and yelling I was unfair and some other childish stuff. »

«Huh… »

«Well, this makes things a bit more complicated. My first intention was to give you a good lecture and banish you from my gym for a little while, so you could train before making any other attempts, or just plainly request that your trainer license be taken away if you went too far and showed no remorse or anything. »

I gulped down nervously and I found myself thankful that he was talking about it as if he had decided otherwise.

«Your pokémon protested in your place and you cut off my speech right where I was about to say the one thing that was supposed to make you reflect on your role and responsibilities as a trainer. However, snce you seem to have done that on your own, I'm not quite sure what to do next. » That definitely was embarrassment I could see in his gestures. The face he was making looked like he was pondering something important. The most likely candidate? My future as a trainer… «Alright, I probably should not tell you this, but I made a mistake. When my pidgeotto had just tried to produce another cloud of dust and it failed, I should have let you win. »

It was as if he had dropped a stone in my stomach. Letting me win? On top of using a weaker team… he would have had to let me win? Reasonable arguments or not, this was getting hard to swallow. Then I remembered my own faults and I promptly looked down.

«I was a bit too enthusiastic about the battle and I reacted as a trainer rather than as a gym leader. When it was too late, I could not exactly asked my pokémon to give up without any reason so I went on with the battle… leading to that incident. » He sighed and, to me, he suddenly looked old and tired, even if he was probably the same age as my mom. She never appeared like that to me before though…

«So… what now? » I asked, with the mad hope that he was not going to punish me too harshly.

«Take this. » He handed me a small object that looked like a pair of wings and I gasped.

He was giving me a gym badge? What about all those things he told me about being an irresponsible trainer?

«B-but… » I tried to push away his hand.

In any other situation, I would have jumped on the badge. Funny how events influence decisions and desires…

«No protests accepted. I already violated some rules by telling you about my mistake, so you cannot refuse this. » The gym leader forced open my own hand and closed my fingers on the object, much to my dismay.

Moving away from me, he shot a look at the clock and looked back to the door of the gym.

«Abe and Rod better have good excuses for being late. » He frowned with an evident displeasure.

«F-Falkner… » I tried to tell him my true sentiment, but he cut me off.

«Oh, you're still here? Good, you can take back your aquarium just after you're done with a little task I have for you. » He smiled, but that was the same sort of smile Martin gave me when he had something twisted in mind.

«A task? » I asked, cautious of the gym leader at this point.

To my confusion, he walked away from me toward a small door that I had not seen before and opened it. He did not leave the room however; he just reached for something inside.

I groaned when I saw the broom and the mop.

«I think you have a bit of cleaning to do. That platform is where I have to fight gym battles, you know? »

That's how I managed not to explode into an emotional guilty mess during the next fifteen minutes: cleaning.

* * *

I missed Martin.

Yes, I did think that, no need to fuss over it. I needed something to focus on other than my disastrous gym battle and I had trouble doing that.

Standing alone on the shore of Violet City's lake alone may not be the best way to distract myself though.

I could not help think about how much of a selfish idiot I had been. Falkner has been wrong. I had not even done it to win; I had done it so my pokémon would not look down on me. It had not even been to get closer to a dream of a lifetime; it had just been to avoid appearing weak.

For that, I had discarded Levys' safety.

The images of him falling off the platform and then interrupting Falkner would not leave me alone. I looked at the badge in my hand.

«I got this by risking Levys' life… » I whispered.

This was not right.

Levys was an awesome, loyal pokémon. I did not want to get a badge this way, not with what it implied. So I did something I never imagined I could do.

I dropped the Zephyr Badge in the lake.


	7. To hallucinate the truth

**To hallucinate the truth**

All in all, I could honestly say it was an enlightening experience. That certainly did not make my nausea go away, but it was pretty revealing on myself.

Oh, and like most people, I was not thrilled by what I could see.

Selfish, power-hungry, miserable, weak looking pre-teen. Especially that last one.

When I let Levys out of his pokéball to apologize, he slapped me.

Shocked, I remained silent and a few tears even threatened to appear in my eyes as I thought he was angry with me.

«I'm sorry, Levys. » I looked down and got hit again for my trouble.

«Karp! » He protested. «Kaaarp karp karp. »

«Hum… » I hesitated. It was true that I was getting better at understanding him, I swear. It's just that this was a bit mindboggling. Was he angry at me for what I did, in which case he argued against Falkner even then (prompting me to give him an award and a real feast for pure awesomeness), or was he not angry at me at all and did not want me to apologize?

Only one way to find out: ask him.

«Why are you angry? » I said, making my magikarp blinked.

«Karp karp kaaaaarp. » He replied slowly.

Only one way to find out: ask him _with a yes or no question!_

«Are you mad because of the match? » I tried to sound calm. Either way would make me guilty as heck, but at least I'd know the truth.

«Karp. » He moved his head right and left and I felt my knees weaken with the emotion.

«But Levys…! » I started protesting just as he jumped out of the lake and slapped me.

«But- ! » Once. «Levys, I - ! » Twice. «Will you just -? » Thrice. «_Okay, I get it!_ »

My cheeks were as red as his scales at that point and I massaged the sore spots.

«You really ought to - !» Oh to Reverse World with it! My arrogant pokémon had the nerves to slap me _again_ and dared looked smug about it! He even dove underwater for a second and I could definitely tell that he was laughing at me!

«Levys, how dare you? » I cringed, indignant.

He looked perfectly fine with that. One less point for him. There.

He surfaced again and I almost choked. Levys suddenly did not look very amused.

He had the badge in his mouth.

«Drop that! » I instantly ordered.

My pokémon's eyes narrowed and I flinched.

«I-I'm serious, drop that! » I said, backing away slightly.

I was hit by a splash of water.

Levys seemed really angry with me now, but I did not want to back away either. Why couldn't he understand? That badge was not something I deserved, not with the way I received it. To get a badge through that sort of behavior was not something I wanted to live with, even if my starter was the one to urge me to.

«…please… just… drop it, Levys. » I pleaded softly.

I'd rather not argue on something like that with him; it was painful.

Levys looked sad, but he finally agreed and let the badge sink into the water once more.

«Karp? » He said, tilting slightly to the right.

«I was not a good trainer back then, Levys. I want to get that badge by fighting properly, not by acting inconsiderately, do you understand? I'm not giving up on my dream, I swear. We'll face Falkner again, but only when we're ready to take him on, okay? I don't want to risk your life like that ever again. » I finished explaining, calm but sad.

«Karp! » He replied loudly, making me blink in surprise.

And he jumped on me, tears moistening his big round eyes. Wait… could a fish cry?

«Karp kaarp kaarp! »

My only response was to hug him strongly.

«What a touching scene. » Someone commented from behind me.

Without losing a moment (…as if I could do that), I turned around and faced the intruder.

I lost my voice for a second and I frowned in confusion. There was a monk in front of me… unless it was just a shaved man wearing some eccentric clothing.

«Hum… » I hesitated.

«Ah, forgive my intrusive behavior. I was simply touched by the great display of friendship you two offered me. » He bowed politely and I sulked a little. Who had offered _him_ anything? That was just a good moment between us two alone! In a public place though… maybe I should not protest too loudly.

«Yeah, yeah, pleased to have made your day. Can you leave us alone now? » I dismissed him.

«Oh no, it would be irresponsible of me to leave you like this. There is a very bad aura surrounding you right now. » The man declared, as if that made any sense.

«Huh… »

«I fear much trouble on your path if you insist on walking away now. » He tried to sound wise, but I must admit that I was not really impressed.

Troubles on my way? Who would doubt that? On the other hand, I did not want to walk away, I want _him_ to leave. As far as ominous predictions go, I've heard better before.

My unimpressed look failed to make an impression on him as he grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the tower.

«Hey! What are you doing? » I yelled as Levys fell off me. «Let go of me, you freak!»

«I am afraid I cannot. »

«Yes, you can! Just let go of my arm! » I screeched!

Unfortunately, there was no one else near the lake and no good-willed villager heard of my predicament.

Of course.

«Return! » I pointed Levys' pokéball his way before he was out of the device's reach.

The man dragged me on a wooden bridge (which was really hard for a dragged body, with all those planks hitting every meter or so) toward the local tower. I vaguely remembered that place being associated with bellsprouts, but I was doubtful. A whole building dedicated to _bellsprouts_, really?

My kidnapper remained silent the whole time, apparently having a stone for a heart. My absolutely adorable pleas and my soul breaking threats did not even crack the armor of his skin.

That or I was the crappiest actor ever.

Because, really, I was scared out of my mind at this point. The man just went passed the enormous doors of the tower and closed them behind us. Never had the sight of doors being closed seemed so unbelievably scary to me before.

I was alone with a man that had decided I had a bad aura and was going to meet trouble if I continued on my way. Did that mean the problem was going to be _him_, because I had not taken him seriously?

«W-what are you g-going to do with me? » I asked, my voice trembling with fear.

«Oh, but I am going to help you. » The monk replied, apparently genuinely surprised at the sight of my shaking body.

«T-t-then, let me go! » Oh Arceus, could this get any worse?

…why did I ask that? Something terrible was bound to happen now…

«I cannot. I told you it would be extremely irresponsible of me to let a child walk away directly into trouble. » My kidnapper did seem sorry for the scare he had given me…

«Then what are you going to do? » I asked warily. At this point, a good surprise would be nice.

«Help you. » At that, he smiled mysteriously and I found myself wishing to have jumped in the lake as soon as the man had started talking to me.

He walked passed me, not even glancing at me on the floor. I was quite relieved when he left the room by walking upstairs.

Now alone, my first reflex was to make a dash for the doors. My second was to realize there was no handle. My third was to try to push these doors and get my sweet freedom back, to no avail.

Now what?

The room reminded me of Falkner's gym, minus the platform. The interior was decorated in that old wooden style that had impressed me before. However, right now, a feeling of emptiness, of an aging building, was pressing on me in the semi-obscurity that reigned in the tower. It felt as if this place should not be here anymore.

I shivered from head to toes and I decided that maybe that monk would let me go if I asked nicely. Anything would be better than staying in this creepy tower longer than necessary.

I stumbled in the stairs and hit my face once, but I just ignored it, stood up and continued climbing. I was certain this place was haunted.

I froze in place when I saw what the man had been up to.

Oh, and I screamed. Let's not forget that.

«Welcome in this inner sanctuary of peace. » The monk greeted me, as polite as before, with an extra dose of creepiness.

I mean, he was sitting in a circle of black candles in a dark room with some sort of creepy blue mist surrounding him! Where the heck was the peace in all this? Was it the peace due to the deceased?

It looked like he was trying to summon Giratina!

I must admit that I was a little white with shock after my scream had died down.

«My apologies for scaring you. I did not think you were the kind to be afraid of the dark.»

That was not the problem! Well, actually, it was PART of the problem, but the real deal was the utter creepiness of all this!

«Please, come and sit down with me. »

NEVER! «This is important for your growth as a trainer. »

What was important was me leaving this place! Nothing else!

«I will not hurt you. »

Says the houndoom to the mareep!

«If you refuse, your pokémon will be the one to suffer in the long run. »

Nothing he could say would make… Levys?

«W-what do you mean? » I swore, if he so much as hinted at going for Levys, I would set him on fire with those candles!

«Sit down and all will be revealed. » He motioned to a circle chalked up on the ground.

My whole body was screaming to me to just run away and be done with that, but my mind refused. If this was to protect Levys from harm, then I had to do it. I owed it to my starter.

I took place in the circle and looked directly at the monk. Said monk looked very pleased with my decision.

«Excellent. I knew from the start that you would choose this option. Young trainers are easily impressionable and will often leave without a second thought. Only those with a true bond with their pokémon will choose to stay. »

My brain short-circuited.

«You mean this was just to test me? » I protested with a very deep indignation. This had been one of the scariest experiences in my life!

«Partially. Some components are really needed for what we are about to do; others… not so much. »

I gulped down, not exactly reassured. What could need this kind of setting?

«Young trainer, I feel that you are conflicted over your training career. »

I blinked for a second, impressed, before I remembered that he had listened to me talk to Levys.

«No, I just made the decision to be more careful in battles from now on. I don't see what the conflict is. » I crossed my arms stubbornly. This was getting too personal to my tastes.

«Exactly. You do not see, for the true problem is hidden within. There is no wickedness in wishing for the safety of your pokémon; it is actually quite noble. However, you will face trouble at one point in your journey and, that day, you will be lost. »

«Can you see the future? » I said, a little bit mocking though the sheer seriousness of the man was making me nervous.

«No, I cannot, but I can easily detect patterns. »

«Well, why don't just tell me what my big problem will be, so I can deal with it and skip the whole ordeal in the first place? »

«I cannot offer you the solution. You are the only one that can. » He shook his head sadly, as if he would rather tell me everything anyway. «What I can offer you, however, is foresight. »

«What do you mean? »

He did not answer. Instead, he called a bellsprout out and looked at me in the eyes. For a second, I felt as if my mind was opened to him before getting a grip.

«What are you doing? »

«Do not resist. » He instructed me.

Have I mentioned that this was the kind of order that pushes me to do exactly the opposite?

«What are you doing? » I tried to stand up, but the monk had moved forward and kept me in place. Our faces were only inches away from one another now…

«Just calm down and breathe slowly. »

The bellsprout waiting in the shadows had started moving, as I could see some sort of pink mist fill the air. That was supposed to be Sweet Scent, wasn't it? Was he trying to call pokémon here? But there weren't any here…

Unless you counted the ghosts!

Trying to get my breath under control was useless now, as I could feel a cold chill around me. There were ghosts here; there was no about about it.

I heard a scream-inducing chuckle rise from the ambient darkness and dozens of glowing red eyes suddenly stared at me.

I was white with terror. Arceus! Was that monk trying to give me a heart attack?

«G-go away! » I yelled at the ghosts, only to be answered with a chorus of mad laughers.

«Do not be scared… » The obviously mad man whispered to me.

«HOW CAN I NOT BE SCARED WHEN I AM TRAPPED WITH A WEIRDO, HIS BELLSPROUT AND LAUGHING GHOSTS? » I shouted at the tops of my lungs.

My small rant was met with literally hysterical laugher from the ghosts and I wondered how long it would take for my brain to shut off.

Not long apparently, because my vision started to blur.

«W-what's happening? » I stuttered, my head feeling heavy.

«Relax and let the truth reflect in your mind. » The monk told me.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that the bellsprout was spraying a greenish mist now. I could not quite process the information before I blacked out.

* * *

I cannot be certain of the exact moment I returned to the world of the living, but, for a long time, I stayed lying on my back, my eyelids too heavy for me to lift. It felt as if the life had been drained out of me…

I jolted upward, that thought waking the heck out of me!

Panting in panic, I looked around me, only to see I had been lying in some forest.

«What? » I frowned, confused.

I was alone and I could barely hear the singing of some pidgeys in the background…

This had gone beyond weird. One minute I was stuck in a dark room with ghosts and a crazy monk and the next I was lying in the middle of a forest. Had he decided to go even further with the kidnapping and dump me in the middle of nowhere? That was a hypothesis I should not ignore.

«Is anybody here? » I turned around to see if I had not missed traces of human activity.

«I'm here! » A familiar voice surprised me.

«Martin? » I blinked. Was he a part of this?

«Who else? I left you a minute ago. I did not think you would be so afraid to be left alone for a little while. » He grinned condescendingly.

If it was not for the fact that this made no sense, then I would be pissed at him for teasing me again. However, I was only confused even further by his statement.

«Did you see a man wearing a monk's attire and followed by dozens of ghost-types? » I glanced around, visited by a chill not unlike the one I had experienced earlier.

«No. Did you want to convert yourself? » He tilted his head, now just as confused as I was.

«It's… it's probably nothing. » But, of course, my worries did not disappear, nor did Martin's perception.

«Surprise headlock! » He suddenly grabbed me and my mind effectively wandered off my strange kidnapper.

«Let go of me! » I ordered him, without effect though. If anything, it seemed to encourage him even more.

Great.

«Now to find a body of horribly cold water that will make you sick… » Martin whispered under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear about it.

«What? » My eyes widened. He wouldn't…

«Ah, I can see one. » He said with a smile.

«Where do you see that? » I frowned.

We were in the middle of the woods, what kind of body of water did he expect to find in the five meter radius of a clearing?

«Just below. »

Unbeknownst to me, Martin had apparently walked more than I thought as we were now standing on the verge of a cliff!

I lost my voice instantly.

«Just there, can you see that little blue dot? That's a lake. » He pointed to a very blurry piece of dark green below with what _appeared_ to be some sort of blue circle.

«Martin, that's just – »

«Here we go! » He jumped, my head still locked under his arm.

_He, mother of Arceus, jumped!_

The feeling of falling was exactly what my mind needed to shut down into a gibberish mess.

Until Martin reminded me of his Giratina cursed presence that is…

«What a view. » He commented cheerfully. _Cheerfully? _We were going to die because of him and he was cheerful? WHAT?

«I HATE YOU, MARTIN! » I screamed with a venom stronger than what I thought I could master.

«Ah, but hatred is a form of love, dear lil' teddy. » Martin replied with a little smile.

«THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SE – »

I was brutally cut off by the impact of us two entering the lake at a speed I could not put a number on. My lungs instantly filled themselves with cold and muddy water and, with the signal of pain the rest of my body was sending me, this was surprisingly not my number one worry.

The fact that I had not died on the spot was a somewhat nice surprise. Normally, I would thank my lucky star and her gazillions of colleagues for saving me, but I was a bit preoccupied by the fact that I could not move and that I was sinking deeper into the water.

Martin was nowhere near in sight. In fact, I could not see a thing. It was like I had fallen so deeply that the light refused to reach this far into water.

My body still did not respond, though the sensations were still horribly present. For anyone that wonders, this is beyond scary, terror and any other word you might think of, WAY beyond that.

It was dark, it was a void, and it was beyond what I could endure.

I could not tell how long it lasted, an eternity or a second, but things started to change. My body felt different now, but I feared that I had lost my sensations. I could not feel my legs anymore.

«Karp? » I heard a rumbling noise and the recognition stimulated my senses to the maximum.

«Levys? » I asked, my own voice distorted by the water. To my great surprise, I felt no pain, as if the world had suddenly changed.

«Karp karp. » It was not Levys. The voice was slightly different, more graceful.

I was right. A magikarp bigger than me swam into my field of vision.

For some reason, I was not afraid. I wanted to, but my body and my mind refused to feel fear at the sight of such a gigantic magikarp. It felt familiar.

«Kaaaaarp. » The pokémon stroke my cheek and the love in that single movement made me feel at peace.

If only I could understand what was going on…

«Karp! » Another magikarp approached us, this one smaller but still at least as big as me.

«Brother? » I said out loud before freezing.

Why did I say that? Why had it been so… natural?

Then it hit me. I had died and returned as a magikarp.

What?

«Karp karp! » My brother swam into me, mocking. Great, even in this life I was being teased by my peers.

«Kaaarp. » The massive one separated us easily, a bit roughly in the case of my brother. Furthermore, he looked pissed himself now. Maternal justice was the best kind.

…alright, I had to find out how my brain worked now because this was getting a bit out of hand.

«Karp. » She said nicely and we took it as an order to follow her.

Swimming as a fish was a bit weird, as I had the experience with a human body, my mind contradicted my instinct. This was… an unusual turn of event.

But I couldn't honestly protest about it. Perhaps it was my now different brain, but I was content with what I had now, a mother and a brother. She taught us how to find food, how to hide, how to sleep, how to survive.

And then she was killed.

We didn't have the time to panic. A tentacle came from a shadow and snatched her away. The last thing I saw of her was her body being dragged away in the darkness of the bottom of the lake. The last thing I heard of her was a panicked «Karp» that I never quite understood.

My brother and I fled. If our mother could not fight back, we had no chances.

We tried to survive by ourselves. This was much harder without our mother's help. We were still too young to fend for ourselves.

Alone, neither of us would have been able to pull through, but our combined efforts allowed us to live to adulthood, even if we were not as strong as we could have been.

My brother died by being snatched away too, but from getting too close the surface. A pair of claws pulled him out and I never saw him again.

I was alone now.

It was hard. The lake, though this concept was purely human to me, had shrunk down. I could not tell why, but it had and things were starting to go downhill. The predators were more aggressive, now forced to live in a smaller environment, and food was scarce. More than once, I ate things that were completely unknown to me. Once, I even swallowed a rock that was of a different color, with the hope it was somehow edible enough to could calm my growing hunger.

It was dark in the lake. Light could still filter from the surface, but it felt dim. I knew that sooner or later, the looming threat of death would snatch me too.

I caught a glimpse of something floating ahead of me and, fighting my instinct with all my strength, I forced myself to test it first. To my delight, it tasted delicious and I tried to swallow it whole.

I suddenly felt my body being pulled forward.

Without thinking, I tried to back away, but it was stronger than me.

I could see the surface of the lake get closer fast now! Was I going to be killed the same way my brother had?

The memories of him flashed before my eyes and I felt a burning anger fill me. I would not go down without a fight!

I pulled, swam, splashed, flailed, trashed, dove, charged, everything! I did everything in my power to fight for my survival, if only to know that I had not given up!

I was thrown out of the lake, completely. For the first time in this life, I was not in a body of water.

I hit the ground, who was hard and uncomfortable compact. I helplessly tried to get back into the lake, but this was so foreign of a feeling now that I could only jump in a straight line toward the sky.

Something hit me in the ribs and I was sucked into a small rock. My sight went black again.

* * *

«GAH! » I screamed, jolting awake in the dark room, the creepy (and definitely crazy!) monk staring at me with interest.

«I take it your inner quest has been successful? » His politeness surfaced again and I looked his way with bewilderment.

What part of me waking up screaming meant that it had gone well?

Then, it hit me. I was supposed to wake up screaming, I was _meant_ to think I died, _twice!_ I wanted to glare that man to death. I had been scared out of my minds so many times today it was not even close to being funny anymore!

I slapped the hand he offered me and the monk seemed honestly taken aback by my attitude.

My anger flared up. He did not understand that I could be angry with what he had put me through?

I wished nothing more than to scream at him at the top of my lungs, but a sudden chill went down my spine as I was touched by a ghost-type and I forced myself to sound calm.

«What… did you do to me? » I asked, leaning backward… just in case.

«Is it not obvious? » His serenity returned and he smiled.

«It is. You drugged me. » I shot him a wounded look… and I hoped really hard that my poor acting skills did not fail me now.

Not that I had anything to worry about anyway.

The man's eyes widened greatly and he looked shocked beyond words.

«No! Of course not! » He strongly denied my accusation, waving his arms wildly for added effect.

«Yes, you did! I did not fall asleep on my own! » I tried to put as much pain and anger as possible in my voice, which wasn't very hard after the traumatizing experience this had been.

«I did help you fall asleep, but this was not via a drug. I simply had my bellsprout use Sleep Powder on you. » The monk tried to explain, but this only served to annoy me.

«That's _exactly_ what I meant by drugging me! You put me to sleep against my consent! And those ghosts did something to me! I know they did! » I gritted my teeth in anger and I stood up, ready to leave regardless of that man's opinion or even of those ghosts!

«T-They did use Dream Eater… » He stuttered weakly.

«What? » It was my turn to be bewildered. Not in surprise, but by the sheer amount of stupidity I had in front of me!

Dream Eaters could send people into a coma! It messed with people's way of thinking while they were dreaming and overstimulated the area of fear! To use that on a human being, even worse, on a cute teenager like me, was beyond irresponsible!

…yes, that time my teacher had ranted about a boy threatening to make a girl's dreams disappear with that was fresh in my memory and I could not forget it, no matter how many times I tried.

«Let me go, right now. » I would not take «no» for an answer. This man, under the cover of helping me, had put me through something very dangerous.«I want to leave. »

For a moment, he only stared at me and I feared he'd ignore my demands and try the same trick again. He did think I had been successful though. If I was lucky, he would…

Oh crap, I was doomed to stay here forever…

«Of course. » He bowed to me, although it was more of an apology than a mark of respect.

I blinked in surprise at the man and, before I had the time to react, he stood up and went downstairs. Not very reassured at this sudden change in behavior, I did follow him (I had asked for that, after all), albeit consciously.

The hysterical cackling that erupted behind my back sent me through a panic and I ran as fast as I could to get out. I had forgotten about all those ghosts that had answered his call.

I felt a chill as I looked back to the upper floor and could not see past the darkness.

«I do hope you will one day find it in your heart to forgive me. » The monk apologized formally this time and I turned around to see that he had opened the doors.

Without letting the frantic beating of my heart show on my face, I walked out of the tower, my eyes fixated on the crazy monk, just in case he was overwhelmed by madness and decided to throw me in the lake or have me eat his robes.

…Wait, that sounded like something Martin would do…

I am fairly certain the monk did not understand the meaning of me hitting my forehead with my palm at that very moment. He did send me a weird look, but he smiled too.

Creepy.

«I can see that your vision of the world did change and my mission here is done. I shall pray that the ones that do need spiritual enlightenment will find my way. »

I had to fight the urge to freeze in place. Instead, I went with the very logical course of action that is running away!

Next stop: the police station.

Thankfully, no one followed me, explicitly at least, and I could reach that haven without trouble.

Inside the actual building, I stopped to think about exactly what I was about to say. Here, in this mundane setting, I felt extremely silly with what I intended to do next. So I stood where I was, not really sure of what I wanted to do anymore.

«Hello? May I help you, kid? » A tall police officer finally approached me.

I was not scared, even if I could swear he was the brother of that driver from the Reverse World.

«Hum… y-yes… » I stuttered on my words, blushing in the process.

The man had a very engaging smile and kneeled next to me. The warmth on his traits instantly reminded me of the way my mother looked at me when she was happy and I felt my fear melt away.

«You see… I was just kidnapped by a very weird monk… » I looked away, as if that was something shameful.

The officer grabbed my arm gently and asked me to follow him further inside the office.

Five minutes later, I was sitting on a chair with a cup of juice, while trying to convince one officer not to phone my mother. So far, I was on the losing side of the discussion.

It was not easy to go against the official procedure, not against a severe looking dark-haired female officer.

«I will call her myself, I swear! » I tried to appeal to the woman's maternal instinct by looking as vulnerable as possible, which was backfiring spectacularly. She was convinced I needed to take a break from training, or at the very least, had to get a guardian to travel with me.

«Look, Maria, you're just making him more nervous and I think you will agree with me that he does not need any excess of stress right now. » My savior came in the form of that tall officer I had first met.

«Fine… » She let go of the phone she had been holding all this time and focused on me instead.«Well, can you tell us exactly what happened? »

I bit my lips.

«I'm… not quite sure to be quite honest… » That was perfectly true. I did not understand what that had been about. I had been talking with Levys about pokémon training and that man had suddenly come from behind me and dragged me into the tower. Worse, he had held some sort of weird magic-looking thing and had drugged me.

I told them what happened, mentioning that I was just as confused as them in regards to the motives of that guy. Their eyes widened when they heard about the Dream Eater thing too.

«And you said that he let you go? » One of them asked me.

«Yes. He told me I was done with my… spiritual journey thing and opened the doors… » I frowned.

I had not told them about that dream I had; I had a feeling that was too personal to share…

I felt Maria's gaze on me and I shifted uncomfortably.

«This is not our man then… » She declared, looking at her colleagues with a tired expression.

«I think we should send a team in the tower immediately. We do not know if that monk had the intention of staying there any longer. » One of the other officers replied, though there was some sort of silent acknowledgement toward her statement in his demeanor.

«Right. » A pair of officers nodded and left the room. A second later, I heard their voices, muffled by the walls, calling a few more names and the movement of several adults rising from their chairs at once.

While I had been distracted, the remaining officers seemed to have agreed on something behind my back. By the looks on Maria's face, I should be afraid, very afraid.

«We have come to an agreement. » She started and I subconsciously nodded. It had been awfully fast. I didn't look away for that long, did I?

«In regards of that kidnapping you have been victim of, we will provide you with an escort during your stay here, as long as that monk is not under arrest. »

Great… babysitting, just what I needed to look even more like a weakling.

Then, the face of that monk floated before my eyes and I promptly forgot any and all opposition I might have had. Bodyguard? Good. So long as I wasn't drugged once more in my stay here, I would put up with that.

The officer that volunteered to stay with me until the end of the affair was a blonde man by the name of Grant, which was what I gathered.

The man barely introduced himself, not looking immensely happy with the task he had been given. That was one thing we had in common, but I had to admit this was making me a bit apprehensive of the time we would have to spend together.

It became significantly worse when he announced that it would be in our best interest not to leave the town in itself, as this could make us more vulnerable to an attack.

It also meant I would not be allowed to train either, unless I faced a great number of other trainers like me, preferably beginners, because I really didn't feel like losing any more battles today.

* * *

As it turned out, I did lose more battles today. Luckily, I managed to find a few other trainers, most of which were standing not far away from the lake leading to the Bellsprout Tower. While the bridge and the tower itself were obviously off-limits, the borders of the lake had been deemed safe, although I would sometimes catch a glimpse of a police officer patrolling the area.

The trainers were even water-types trainers, which meant this would be my first real battle on an aquatic field. Given that Levys was at ease the most in a lake like that one, it should have been much easier for us.

Levys did indeed have a blast… I hope. The part where he was being beaten aside, I meant…

Who could I have guessed that other water-types were good swimmers? Not me…

The day unfortunately ended with me feeling my pockets being much lighter than yesterday and being followed by a police officer that was obviously restraining himself from snickering in my face.

This was not a good day.

The thought made me blink. It was an alarming tendency that my days were never truly good, but really, this one was pretty much taking the cake.

Nurse Joy's kindness did make me feel better, but that was not quite enough and, after the sun had set, I would still feel empty, if not for the anger.

«Are you okay, kid? » Grant openly asked, as I was lying down in my bed.

Alright, would I be honest or act like my mom would want me to? If it was Martin, Allan or maybe Anna, I knew how I would have acted.

«…I'm fine. »

Sounds like my mother got another victory to her belt. She was probably jumping around the kitchen now. I was still too polite to say what I really thought of my crappy day.

«Is that so? » The man said simply, neither asking nor doubting. It was refreshing that he was willing to consider my opinion in all this.

Levys was looking at me through the glass of his aquarium. He had gotten a few bruises in today's battles, but nothing Nurse Joy couldn't heal. I knew it was not the reason I could not look away.

Seeing him swim in the lake had caused a little pinch at the level of my heart. Seeing Levys swim in his tank now was comforting. It should have felt very, very wrong. After all, he was not free there, just a prisoner of that small box of glass. But I could not find guilt inside me anywhere.

I was afraid I was not a good person.

What would brother think o…?

What did I just think? I jolted upright, surprising both my pokémon and my bodyguard. I barely noticed.

I didn't have a brother, but the magikarp I had been forced to think I was had one! I was awake though. Why would I think like that now? 

_«What I can offer you, however, is foresight. »_

Riiiiight, and brain damage on top of that, as an extra bonus.

_«If you refuse, your pokémon will be the one to suffer in the long run. »_

Why? That guy was just whacked… right?

_«Relax and let the truth reflect in your mind. »_

What truth? What had I actually seen?

I had been killed, unceremoniously, by Martin who had acted like his usual moronic self… which was close enough to the truth for me to accept, but then… I had woken up as a magikarp, grew up as one, saw my mother got killed, saw my brother got killed, then I got dragged out of the lake and…

The revelation blew away my strength and I fell on my back, eyes wide.

I caught sight of Grant, hurrying to my side, calling for my name, but really, I could only guess. Images and sounds were being muffled by a foggy veil at this point.

I shot a pale look at my pokémon, my starter, Levys, and could not bear the weight of his round clueless eyes anymore.

This had been so wrong. That monk... he had no right… _no right at all!_ …to show me that.

Weakly, I stood up, ignoring Grant that was frantically trying to get my attention.

«Levys… » I said, my mouth painfully dry.

My magikarp tilted his body to the side, even frowning a little.

«Kaaarp? » «Do you have a brother? » Even as I let the words escaped my mouth, I was praying to Arceus. Because it was not fair, not right, not nice, to know all that without even asking for permission. It was violating Levys' privacy to do that.

I would personally punch any person that would try to share my whole past to another person without my permission. I would cringe at the very thought of it!

The moment they heard my question, the heaviest silence I have ever experienced fell on the room. Levys had never looked so stunned. I saw it… the traces of a sadness I could only remember too vividly…

That was all the answer I needed.

I cried. I couldn't explain why, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. Was I crying because that mother and brother I had really died? Was it because I was ashamed of what I had done to my partner? Or was it really just compassion for my dear starter?

My forehead resting against my pokémon's fish tank, I asked for forgiveness.

Oh, and before you ask, yes, I did spend the next six days at the hospital, checked from brain damages, traces of hallucinogens and lasting traumas.


	8. I said  give me a break , not  break me

**I said «give me a break», not «break me»!  
**

«You see, Madam, we've run many tests on your son, testing his mental capacities in comparison to his previous records in order to detect the possible damages induced by the ghost attack he was put through. » A doctor whose name escaped me was speaking, with as much tact as a bloc of cheese, with my mother.

«What are the results, doctor? Please, do not hide anything from me. » She crossed her hands under chin, her eyes glittering with worry and actual tears.

«Oh, madam, rest assured that I would tell you if your son had been reduced to the state of a vegetable! »

Wow… I couldn't find a word to describe that guy's problem… well, one that I wouldn't mind thinking near my mom. She was a psychic when it came to those things.

«No, in fact, after a thorough examination of his memory with the help of our hospital's resident alakazam, we've managed to determine exactly how long the lingering effect will affect his comportment. »

Too bad no one managed to do the same with yours!

The man's face even lightened up before he continued. Oh, the… no, mom was here, no insulting a very unprofessional doctor even if he deserved it so much!

«It seems that your son had been manipulated to believe that he was a magikarp. »

«I'M RIGHT HERE! » I let go of my anger, ready to take a lecture if that was what it took to make that stupid moron shut up!

My cry of indignation startled them both and reminded them of my presence. Not to mention the fact that it shook my mother off her «worry mode»… which meant she would probably switch to «lecture mode» and I was not looking forward to that.

Surely enough, her expression turned fierce and I feared that she would direct all that dangerous energy toward me. After all, I had just interrupted someone rather rudely and yelled in a hospital on top of it.

I did not sigh in relief, but I was this close to doing just that when she turned toward the doctor.

«Excuse me, sir, but I am afraid that there was a grave misunderstanding here. » She started, all politeness and smiles.

I was imperceptibly trying to hide behind my pillow at this point.

«A… misunderstanding, madam? » The man asked, apparently confused by my mother's sudden change of attitude.

«Yes, sir. You see, for some obscure reason, I had been under the impression that you were mocking the fact that my son had been brainwashed during his kidnapping. » Her tone was calm, kind of like a trap that was waiting to be activated by a careless explorer to impale him or her with extreme prejudice.

Dear Arceus, protect those that have faith in you! Oh, and strike with your divine light the monk that just put me through that if possible.

«Since that must have been a disgusting and completely falsified impression, I have to present my most sincere apologies to you. » She humbly bowed, all the while smiling, a vicious light shining behind her apparently sincere smile.

«N-n-no… there is no need to apologize, madam. » The man promptly replied. «A-after all, it was a simple misunderstanding. »

«You are too nice, sir. » She straightened up, looking directly at him.

«I-if you'll excuse me, I have to go take care of many, many other patients. If there is anything you need, c-ca-call for a nurse. »

And like that, he left my room running.

That was pretty awesome. I didn't think I could make people run away by apologizing of all things…

«Are you okay, my little farfetch'd? » She sat just next to my bed and took one of my hands.

«Yeah… they said my first outburst was more of a post-traumatic reaction than a sign of mental disorder. » I grimaced at the memory. To me… it had just felt like the natural thing to do.

«I'm glad. » She tightened her hold on my hand, subconsciously I hope. With her remaining hand, she gently stroked my cheek, smiling tenderly.

A few minutes passed like that, neither of us saying a word, just... enjoying our little reunion.

But there was a growing unease in my stomach that made me… look away.

«Honey? Is there anything wrong? »

«It's just… » Would she understand? She never really cared about training. Would she understand my reasons? Would she… dismiss them?

For a second, the words got stuck in my throat. I wasn't sure… what having her and Levys meet result in…

It was as if a whole world was separating me from my mom. I couldn't fathom to imagine her… strengthening the gap between us. That, more than anything else, convinced me to talk.

«Mom… do you think they're right? To think that I had brain damages because I apologized to my starter a bit suddenly? I know I acted weird when it happened, but that really was the whole point. » I was staring at her, because I had to know if I was just paranoid…

«Actually, I'd like to know why you think that you did something worthy of such a scene.» My mother frowned ever so slightly. She… she had read right through me, didn't she?

«N-nothing, mom. » I looked away, knowing she would not be fooled. «But… please answer my question… »

I could tell she was worried, but she did not press the issue.

«I think that you did the right thing. They explained that you apologized because you thought you had seen your pokémon's past, or rather that you had been forced to see his past, and frankly, I probably would have made you apologize myself if you hadn't. »

My jaw dropped to the floor, literally as I stumbled so much that I fell off my bed.

A bit dizzy, I stood up while using my bed as a solid support.

«R-really? But I thought… »

«That I did not care much about pokémon? » She completed my sentence with a small smile. «It's true that I am not a fan of pokémon training, but it does not mean that I think less of pokémon themselves because of that. They are living sentient beings, just like you and me. » She put one hand on my chest, just over my heart. «As long as there's this, then I think they have the right to their own lives, to their own privacy. »

I stayed motionless, gaping and staring at my mother with very wide eyes.

She hugged me and I felt on the verge of tears.

«Oh honey… I hope that you understand that my love for you is much bigger than you could imagine. If anything is important to you, then I will make it so I can support you, no matter what it is. »

I finally hugged her back and I felt my heart get lighter than it ever had been since the beginning of my journey.

And it jumped around in my chest painfully when I heard a cheerful voice and the sound of trouble in the corridor.

«Hey, if it isn't my favorite teddybear? » Martin entered the room like a tornado, carrying a bouquet and spinning on himself for no apparent reason.

Both my mother and I were a bit too stunned to react.

«I'm interrupting something, aren't I? » He smugly crossed his arms, as if he was not an intruder at all.

«Hum… excuse me, but… who are you? »

«Oh, forgive my horrible manners, the name's Martin Slyder. I usually travel with this future champion and help him live through his journey. » He put a hand on my head and ruffled my hair, earning a glare from me.

«Really? » My mother blinked, surprised.

«Unfortunately… » I mumbled, annoyed with him.

My attitude seemed to amuse Martin as he glanced at me and grinned.

«Really. I am the guy that you falsely accused of kidnapping your son. Although I can understand the misunderstanding, that was still a bit cold. »

«I-I'm sorry, Mr. Slyder. » She paled and bowed slightly, which only caused him to rub the back of his head and laugh.

«Oh, that's all forgiven. I was not blaming you or anything. I just thought this would help remember me. »

Judging from the expression on my mom's face, yes, he was definitely leaving a strong impression.

Even more when he lifted me and yelled «friendship piledriver! », which scared the life out of mom, and dropped me on my bed.

There, body upside-down, I felt a very big headache coming. How? How in the history of the world and all that makes Levys awesome did I manage to miss Martin for even a millionth of a second?

«I hate you, Martin. » I growled, which was very impressive and frightening.

«Hatred is a form of love. » He grinned, placing his bouquet of flower on a nearby table.

Ignoring my twitching eyes, he turned to my mother, who was observing the scene with a small smile.

«Well, I'm sorry madam, but could you give me an update?» He let go of my legs, which finally allowed me to escape and I lied down, glaring. «I heard that this little cub is had been hospitalized and I decided that I should buy him flowers to wish him a good recovery, but I don't know the details. He doesn't look injured as far as I can see, this is the psychiatry part of the hospital and even if he's grumpy, that's nothing worthy of a six day rest. »

«Oh… hum… » She hesitated, clearly overwhelmed by his extremely weird behavior.

«Dream Eater. » I said, locking eyes with him.

«You're kidding… » He dropped the overly enthusiastic attitude for a second.

«Yeah, I am and I asked the hospital to play along and keep me here for six da- What do you think? » I hissed between my teeth.

That effectively baffled Martin and he paused.

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I thought it was cruel of me to act like that to him when he had only just arrived. The rest of my mind though was still sore about the friendship piledriver.

«Honey! You're being rude. » My mom scolded me, effectively ruining any effect I might have been going for.

I looked away, but refused to apologize.

«Who did that to you? » Martin asked with a voice that was very different than usual. It sounded calm, it was a bit soft too, but I shivered.

«A-a monk… or a guy that dressed like that… » I stuttered.

«He forced my little farfetch'd asleep and used ghosts with Dream Eater to make him hallucinate. » My mother's voice clashed like a whip and Martin blinked, shaken out of his weird state of mind.

«Did the police catch him? »

«Not yet, they're still looking for him, but they are afraid he might have left the vicinity of Violet City altogether. » My mother frowned, sounding so tired now.

He stayed oddly silent and that started to grate my nerves.

«What about you? » I kicked him, making him jump in surprise. Ah! Take that! «How did your little trip to Cherrygrove go? Did you get viciously bitten by mad ratticates and poisoned a few times? »

While my mother looked shock and angry, Martin snickered and leaned against my pillow.

«My life is surprisingly calm when you're not there to attract bad luck, champ. Plus, the wild life around here is not exactly threatening to someone like me. » He boasted, making me cringe in spite.

Just you wait, Martin, I'll get the last laugh when I'll become champion.

«So, yeah, my trip to Cherrygrove was extremely easy and I even got my next delivery booked. I just have to go to Azalea Town, which coincidentally is where the second gym, Bugsy's, is located. »

Right… coincidentally.

«This is very nice. » My mom interjected. « My poor boy will have to stay here until tomorrow though. I hope this is not an inconvenience for you… »

«Of course not! I am ready to wait as long as I have to for this little teddybear here. » And he imprisoned me within another headlock.

I growled, but, internally, I was a bit happy. I'd rather not get kidnapped again. Twice in two weeks, that was more than enough for me.

«This is great, honey. I'll be much more at ease if I now my boy will have someone to travel with him. »

«Mom! » I yelled in indignation.

«I know you're a big boy, honey, but even an adult is not completely safe when traveling alone. » She pointed out.

«Alright, now that this is dealt with, who wants to play poker? » Martin waved his eyebrows at us both and took out a deck of card.

I grinned. He clearly had no idea of who he was dealing with.

* * *

«Straight flush. » The cards were revealed to Martin and he gasped out loud.

«No way! » He exclaimed, his jaw dropping.

«You better believe it. » I snickered.

«I guess this means I win. » My mother grabbed the pile of beans we had place in the center of my bed, winking at me.

«Well, it looks like I've been played for a fool here. » Martin said, as he noticed the exchange between us.

«Yup. » I agreed wholeheartedly.

«I'm very sorry, dear Martin, but I cannot hold back when it is about poker. » Her tone clearly demented her apology though. There was this little glint of malice in her smile that made me grin even more.

«Well, I guess I'm lucky we used beans instead of money. You would have gotten enough to live on your own until you got back to your hometown, champ. » He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

«Oh, about that, honey… » My mom sounded like she suddenly remembered something and took out her handbag. Martin and I looked at each other in surprise while she rummaged through her things. «Here you go. » She handed me a roll of bills.

Blushing, I accepted the present while trying to hide under my bed sheet. Good trainers did not need parental supports after two weeks…

Martin patted me in the back, half sorry, half amused.

«Oh, and there's this too. » She added, piking my interest enough for me to peek over the sheet.

«Huh? »

She took out a small rounded sphere and, after a second, it expanded.

I stared at the Net Ball she was holding, utterly speechless.

«I bought this on the way here. The vendor told me this was a great pokéball for water-types, so I thought it would be nice for your starter. » She smiled at me, while I was struggling to find the right word to say.

«Hum… Madam… » Martin started, earning her attention. «He cannot change the pokéball in which his pokémon rests unless it's damaged. »

«Oh… »

That's all she said. A blush crept up to her cheeks and she paused.

«Well, I suppose you can just keep it as a good luck charm then… or you can sell it if you're short on money. » She dropped the ball in my open hand.

«Mom! I wouldn't do that! »

«Don't be silly, honey. It's just a pokéball. If you really need money, then consider it one way to get some. »

Well, fat chances. I was certainly not going to sell a gift for traveling money! I was not going to keep losing forever!

A polite knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. My mother stood up and opened it to reveal a blonde nurse.

«The visit hours are over. Only close family members are allowed in the room past this time of the day. » She recited, seemingly bored.

«Oh well, I guess that's my cue. » Martin stood up dramatically, ruffling my hair as he went past me, and walked toward the door. «I will see you in the morning then. Good night champ, you too, champ's mom. »

We both waved him goodbye and he left.

My mother waited until he was definitely gone to comment.

«He is quite the… cheerful… fellow, isn't he? »

Understatement much?

«Yeah… »

The rest of the evening went by peacefully, the biggest source of all the agitation gone due to hospital regulations. I surprised my mother when I announced that I was going to bed so early, explaining that I had gotten this rhythm from Martin and her opinion of him apparently got better.

Of course, I would not agree really, because my opinion of him was fixed in stone already, kind of a cool big-brother-like figure, but really annoying too.

I fell asleep, under the serene noise of my mom's peaceful breathing, on that single thought. For the first time since I had been hospitalized, I really was completely freed of the fear of that crazy monk.

* * *

The next morning, I awoke to the sight of my mother packing up our stuff.

«Good morning, honey. » She greeted me sweetly.

«'ning… » I grunted and buried my head in my pillow.

«Now that's the little boy that left home for adventures. » She chuckled at my reaction. «Unfortunately, I can't let you sleep too much. We must get to the restaurant in an hour at most. »

Without giving me the time to protest, she threw the sheets away and I curled up on myself at the deadly cold that assaulted my bones and my flesh.

What? I was so comfortable!

«I think I understand why he calls you a teddybear now. » She frowned and forced me to stand up. Silently, I accepted the soap and shampoo she gave me and I headed toward the bathroom I had been assigned.

* * *

When I came back, much more alert and in a considerably better mood, I found her watching the news with an extreme focus.

«Mom? »

Clearly startled, she jumped in surprised and talked on a reproachful tone.

«Honey! You really took me by surprise! »

«…what were you watching? » I shot a look at the opened television and got closer to it.

«The news. »She replied on a very matter-of-fact tone, but I could tell she was excited.

I understood why a second later.

On the screen, there was the image of a bald man wearing torn clothes that appeared to have been ceremonial in nature. Said person was also cowering in fear and asking for forgiveness. I barely recognized him since his traits were far from the cringe worthy calm he had displayed before, but that was the monk that had kidnapped me!

«Yes, dear viewers, the child kidnapping monk has finally been apprehended! » A reporter was allegedly pointing toward the wreck of a monk with large shining eyes. She looked as if someone had decided to give her a promotion, which might have actually been true. «The police have refused to give details about the capture, but rumors are flying as to how the man was really discovered. Bystanders have reported that the criminal constantly repeated about a «great dog of the Reverse World» and the «flames of smiting». Others reported having seen silhouettes entering the former Bellsprout Tower not long before a long desperate scream pierced the night. »

I'm not sure why, but this overly excited report made me shiver.

«Speculations go wild, but rest assure, ladies and gentlemen, that we will discover the truth hidden behind all these lies and present it all to you. »

«I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP! » The man suddenly stood up and tried to rush to the camera, only to be held solidly by two officers. «REMEMBER THAT OR YOU WILL NOT SEE THE PROBLEM UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE! REMEMBER WHAT I SHOWED YOU! » I jumped backward, even if I was perfectly aware that he was far away and under the guard of the police. These words were directed at me. I knew that.

It was at that point that they took him away, as the man was starting to struggle madly, still screaming rubbish. The reporter looked at them with a frown and then turned back to the camera.

«Others rumors have also speculated on the mental health of the criminal, wondering if that was but an act to reduce the severity of his punishment or if there was something more tragic behind this story. »

The screen suddenly turned black and I blinked when I saw the remote in my mom's hand.

«Alright, I think that's enough of that. You should get ready now, honey. » She smiled, but I was not really convinced.

* * *

Our departure was nothing noteworthy. Some teary goodbyes (which was entirely from my mother and Martin, not me, I swear… mostly) and we were ready to leave. At first, there had been the debate on which way I wanted to take, but I decided to skip the Alpha ruins. Apparently, it was a very boring place.

Instead, we decided to go down Route 32.

To my great despair, it was host to some electric types, namely mareeps.

Suddenly rattatas didn't sound nearly as annoying. Though, of course, there WERE rattatas around here too so they were still pests.

Was it really so weird of me to instantly decide to go through this road through the docks that were going down the whole river?

Martin didn't comment, but he certainly looked like he wanted to.

«Hey, here Levys can swim all he wants! » I justified my choice and threw my starter's pokéball in the air.

Levys materialized in the river with a smile and I grinned in return.

«Karp! Kaaaarp magikarp! » He jumped over us and the docks, landing on the other side.

It was really nice to see him having a blast. I really should try to find an alternative to that fish tank…

«Oh, that's some nice jumping power. I guess that's what you get when you evolve into a part flying pokémon. » Martin observed with an appreciative smile.

After hearing that, I got hit by a really stupid image.

«…do gyarados jump around? » I asked, fighting the vivid idea of a bunch of gyarados hopping in the air happily.

«…are you serious? » He snickered. «You're not worried Levys will do the same thing as a gyarados, right? »

«No, of course not! » I looked away, cursing the blush that had crept up to my face.

«Is that so? » He leaned closer, smug. «Are you absolutely sure? »

«Yes, I am. » I gritted my teeth and I could feel a cold anger swoop down on me.  
I had to find a way to make Martin trip into the river somehow. I examined my surroundings with subtlety and determined that unless I made him trip over my own foot, which was unlikely,

I would most likely not be able to accomplish this crucial task.

«In that case, why don't you tell me about your first gym battle. I'm curious to hear about this. » Ah, there it was, Martin's talent to take me so completely by surprise that I would trip over my own foot.

I suppose I should thank karma for not sending me straight into the river just then.

«W-what? » I stumbled upon the word, having trouble recovering from the question.

«Alright, what went wrong? » Martin lifted me from the ground and took upon to carrying me like a bag of veggies again. Did he have a something against fruits?

«What m-makes you say that? » My voice faltered, giving everything away.

It was so transparent he did not even dignify that with a reply. I was determined not to give it away though, so I stubbornly stayed silent.

Levys jumped out of the water once more and splashed us quite a bit. Unfortunately, I was used as a human shield and I shrieked in indignation when Martin held me upside down for that.  
Having a closed-up view of some planks making up a river long dock was not on my to-do list. Perhaps Martin noticed (or it was just because it was hard to understand what I said like that), but he put me down fairly quickly. He was not even that smug by his standard.

Urgh…

«Well, what happened that makes you look at Levys like that and is enough to make you stutter at the mere mention of it? » He frowned and crouched just to be on my level.

Hum… jumping into the river was a pretty tempting option now.

«I'd rather not say. » I slowly backed away, until I was literally inches away from falling into the river.

«Alright, that was probably traumatizing enough as it was, I won't force you to say anything; don't worry. » He smiled to me very nicely and even offered me a hand.

Outwardly, I tried my best to appear grateful. Internally, I was really scared that he had figured it out by himself.

However, if he did, Martin certainly did not show it and started walking at a normal pace again.

«Hey! » Someone then screamed our way, startling us both. «What do you think you're doing, huh? »

A guy wearing a fisher's attires was angrily pointing at Levys, who was still swimming energetically and generally having fun.

«Hum… letting out my pokémon so he can swim freely…? » I hazarded, trying not to feel too scared of the grown man whose face was turning red with anger.

«You're scaring all the fish away! » He practically threw his fishing rod on the ground. Wow, he really was getting furious.

«Yeesh, that's one angry man, don't you think, cub? He reminds me of an ursaring. » He whispered, apparently holding back a powerful desire to laugh.

The fisherman did not fail to notice. If it was possible, he was seemingly angrier than before. He was an interesting shade of purple now.

«HEY! What did you just say? » He started stomping our way and I felt myself wishing Martin had shut his big mouth… again…

One day, he'd take the hint, right? Please…

«Oh, I just said you looked angry. » Nope. Not today, at least. «You really ought to calm down, sir. » He frowned in an almost sympathetic smile.

It occurred to me that even when he was talking politely, there was an underlining part of his voice that was just mocking and happy. It also occurred to me that Martin had to be really bad at stopping conflict.

He got punched in the face for his trouble. The shock disturbed his balance and he fell on his back rather lamely.

«Martin! » I shouted, surprising myself with a surge of concern toward him. I kneed next to him and asked with a voice that betrayed my sentiment. «Are you okay? »

The fisherman and I felt really confused when Martin started snickering loudly.

Even when he was in pain he was happy? What was his brain made of? Sugar coated drugs?

«Ouch… » He rubbed the painful area and decided that sitting was the most comfortable position. «That was kind of uncalled for. »

«Not very convincing, Martin. » It escaped my lips before I could stop.

«You just ruined an hour of patient waiting! I was going to sell the pokémon I was after in Violet City. You two owe me three grand! »

I felt a knot in my throat. That was more than half what my mother had given me yesterday.

But if I caused that man trouble, I had to pay for it, right? That's what she taught me…

«No way. », came the fast, solid and jaw dropping reply of Martin.

I froze and so did the fisherman.

«Don't you think you're overreacting? The river is not yours. There is no law against letting your pokémon out in fishing water. It may be courtesy to do so, but this lil' champ here did not know anyone was fishing. » The man looked just about ready to lunge at him once more when Martin added something that stopped him dead in his track. «Not to mention that with a rod like yours, you must not get anything other than magikarps and tentacools. There is just no way you can sell those for three grand. »

He looked as if he had been the one caught doing something illegal now.

«I can! I r-regularly find people willing to buy them for that much! »

Martin shot him a smug look.

«I'm a delivery man; I know the value of items on the market and believe me when I say you don't. » With that, he stood up and looked just about ready to dismiss entirely. With the way the guy was stumbling with his words and by the bulging vein on his neck, that was not quite wise.

«I challenge you! » I placed myself between the two of them and glared at the other man.  
I had the satisfaction to see Martin freeze.

«W-what? »

The fisherman's reaction was not much better.

«Huh? »

«You wanted us to pay you for the pokémon you could have caught, right? Well, that's only if you beat me in battle. » I did my best to look confident. So far, I had lost all my battles against water type trainers.

The guy really did not seem to know how to react to that and it gave me a little confidence boost.

«You can't refuse. Our eyes met, I made an official challenge and you need a trainer's license to fish out pokémon. »

I almost missed it, but I saw his eyes flickered in Levys' direction. It was not hard to guess what he was thinking.

«Fine! » He accepted my offer, smug, and went to look for his pokémon in his bag.

«You didn't need to do that, cub. » Martin frowned.

«No, but I thought that would be the right thing. »

The worst part was that I believed it. Even if Martin had calmly explained that we had no actual obligation to repay that guy, we still disturbed the otherwise calm area and possibly ruined his chances of getting the pokémon he was looking for. To get that angry, he had to have put lots of efforts into it.

Plus, if we walked away, I couldn't make him pay for punching Martin in the face. I was the only one allowed and I had no intention of doing it.

«Levys, we're going to face that man in battle, okay? » I informed my pokémon of his coming battle and guessed I should have asked him first. After all, he'd be the one doing the slapping.

«Come on out, Goldeen! » The fisherman yelled and I saw the gracious fish dive underwater beautifully.

I was not particularly impressed though. When you grew up thinking of great pokémon like milotics or starmies or feraligatrs, a simple goldeen was not much in comparison.

«KARP! » Levys loudly brought me out of my thoughts.

«…Levys? »

«KARP MAGIKARP KAAAARP! » He was aggressively flailing forward in a display I had never seen yet.

Speechless, I stared at my starter while he continued ranting at the opposing pokémon, the latter being superbly indifferent.

«Well, that was unexpected. » Martin scratched the back of his head in confusion.

«Levys, what's wrong with you? » I tried reaching for him and my presence seemed to help him regain his cool. Though while he looked at me, there was still this little flame of anger hidden under the surface.

«Karp… » He resolutely refused to glance at the goldeen while he spoke in a low voice to me.

Well, that stung.

«Alright, we're going to fight them anyway. I suppose that's not entirely too bad… »

«Anyway, both fighters are ready, right? » Martin stepped between us two and waited for us to nod. «Well then, go. »

«Horn attack! » The fisherman screamed surprisingly fast.

«Dodge it! » I ordered, though that was more of a reflex.

The goldeen's horn was glowing when it jumped out of the water and I certainly didn't like the satisfied expression that fish bore.

I was also quite happy when that disappeared, result of Levys diving underwater quickly.

«Chase it! » My opponent said and I looked worryingly at the now calm water.

They were too deep for me to see anything, much less get heard by Levys.

I bet that we looked perfectly stupid, us three staring at the river without saying a word. Someone, somewhere, had to be snickering at us, it just felt so stupid…

«Karp! »

We were all hit by the sudden splash of water and I almost missed Levys' aerial prowess. He had jumped higher than I could reach. Normally, I would just stare, but there was the problem of that goldeen jumping out of the water after him too.

Luckily, I did not miss the mischievous look on my magikarp's face.

«Counter it! »

The goldeen did not see it coming.

One flip, one powerful hit with his tail and the other fish was thrown back, without getting even close to harming my starter.

The other fisherman was staring at me in disbelief.

«Hey! That's can't be right! Your magikarp should barely be able to use Tackle! » He was wildly alternating between me and Levys.

«So what? That doesn't mean he can't find another way to attack. »

«That has to be illegal! » Apparently, he was starting to get angry again and I realized how wrong I had previously been.

He just had a hair-trigger temper.

It had the effect of a cold shower on me and I glared his way.

«It's not. Falkner himself said it was alright. You thought it was going to be a battle you just couldn't lose, didn't you? No, no that's not how it's going to turn out. » My tone was sharp, enough to get Martin and Levys to glance my way.

The fisherman was red again and I could hear him growling.

«Goldeen, Tackle that pest's magikarp! »

«Levys, swim in circles. »

Martin had to put a hand over his mouth during the next few minutes. If he hadn't, he surely would have started laughing and as a referee, that really was a lack of professionalism.

Not that I didn't understand him. It really was getting quite pathetic, to see the fisherman waving his arms wildly at his poor goldeen who was trying to catch up with Levys. It was probably the first time I got to enjoy that much satisfaction in a battle, except maybe the time I beat Joey and his annoying rattata.

«ARGH! GOLDEEN, HORN ATTACK AGAIN! AND THIS TIME, NO MATTER WHERE IT GOES, FOLLOW THAT DAMN MAGIKARP! »

The goldfish pokémon ascended in the air once more and it made me a bit nervous. I was pretty sure the same trick was not going to work twice.

It was a good thing I was keeping an open mind, because the sound of Martin discreetly tapping the planks we were resting on gave me a great idea.

«Under the dock, Levys! »

Under the stunned eyes of my opponent, my magikarp disappeared under the planks of wood, not realizing what was going to happen now.

He really ought to calm down, as Martin said. I was not sure if he could think rationally.

The goldeen dove hornfirst into the docks… and got stuck there.

«Now! Tail Slap! »

A splash behind us made everyone turn around, just in time to see Levys spinning in the air and hitting the other pokémon so hard it went through the docks and fell in the river.

«Goldeen! » The fisherman rushed to look through the hole and returned his pokémon in panic. He was already starting to pack his things to get to the nearest pokémon center when Martin placed a hand on his shoulder and immobilized him.

«Aren't you forgetting something? » He rubbed the fingers of his unoccupied hand together in a very obvious sign.

«I need to get my goldeen to a pokémon center! » The guy wildly said, trying to shake Martin off.

«Of course, but you really don't want to get into trouble for that, right? You have to pay champ over there half of the money you are carrying. Otherwise… well, I suppose we could just report you to the police. »

The man made no further protest, even if he was grumbling when he handed me a hefty sum of money.

I grinned from ears to ears and high fived Martin and Levys (yes, I taught hm how to do that with a good Tail Slap… my hand was sore afterward though).

«Good job, Levys. » I congratulated my pokémon, heart feeling light for once.

«Karp! » He agreed wholeheartedly and I imagined it had something to do with beating up a goldeen.

He had a tooth against them? I could deal with that. I was pretty hateful of rattatas, bellsprouts and mareeps so far, so I didn't have much room to talk anyway.

«Well, that was an unexpected thing to do, champ. Really… you challenged the guy that had punched me to a pokémon battle? » He ruffled my hair, proud.

«Hey! That reminds me, what was the deal with you? You didn't do anything when he hit you! » I escaped his dark grip and pointed an accusing finger at him.

«How was I supposed to react? » He shrugged and I must admit to looking a bit baffled by his attitude. If I was hit by an annoying guy, I'd fight back… unless he was really way too strong for me. Then I'd use the tactic of a healthy retreat. «Look, things don't need to break into a fight every time someone wants to get into one. »

Coming from a former trainer, that was only a mildly convincing argument. Then again, he had quitted that career some time ago. Was that why?

My vision was blinded by a sudden splash of water.

«Levys! » I exclaimed in annoyance.

«Karp? » His voice was clearly confused and he didn't look guilty either.

What?

«It was not him, cub. » Martin casually stated, as he was rummaging through his backpack.

«What are you doing? » I questioned him. He was not going to take out some really powerful pokémon and deal with that by himself, was he?

«Looking if any of the goods I have to deliver have been damaged when I fell on my back. »

«Shouldn't you have thought of that before you let that guy go? » I replied in an acidic tone.

«Yup, but I was too focused on making sure he paid you and I forgot about this until now. »

Another splash of water hit me, this time on the leg and I yelled in surprised. Even worse, I heard some weird muffled noise that appeared to be something's laugh.

A few bubbles popped in a ripple of water a few feet away from where we were standing and I saw red.

«Levys! Get whatever it was! »

Faithfully, my magikarp dashed toward the spot and disappeared under the surface for a few minutes. When he reappeared, he was sadly shaking his head from right to left.

«Huh? There's nothing there. »

«Karp. » Levys said and repeated the movement.

That had to be the truth, because, just then, I was hit by something muddy behind my head. It was positively disgusting.

«Levys! » I shrieked in rage and my pokémon's eyes narrowed as he charged the thing that was attacking me.

«And why aren't you helping? » I turned to Martin, who was done with his examination and was currently whistling and observing our surrounding nonchalantly.

«Well, I was really looking forward to see you deal with it. Not to mention that I ju- »

Mud.

A big ball of mud.

Heading toward my face.

Oh for the love of-

Splurt. That's what I heard, but really, I could be wrong. The sensation of mud on my face was really not welcomed and I might have made a mistake because, by any stretch of imagination, it was not nice!

I was surprised it did not dry and crack on my face immediately. I was boiling (a little) with fury at this point.

And of course, Martin was still next to me.

«…and I thought… I should follow…. my own advices… » His voice was trembling as he was desperately trying to control his hilarity. Too bad he kept snorting in the middle of his speech!

Things really got unfair, because I could not even insult him before something small steeped on my face, closely followed by Levys. People had laughed in my face before, but not quite like this.

I felt myself fall backward, which happened to be the end of the dock. Anyone wanna guess what happened next?

Nah. At the last second, Martin grabbed my vest and kept me from falling. The momentum did apply to what I was carrying though, so a few potions, a paralyz heal and the net ball my mother had bought me were dropped into the river.

«Levys! Get them please! » My magikarp, startled by the urgency in my voice, immediately tried to fish every single item I had lost.

I really would not like to lose my mom's present after one day. That was a bit pathetic, even by my new standards.

While he was underwater, Martin pulled me back firmly on the docks and helped me wash my face, sympathetic, but also with eyes that looked teary from the amusement.

«It's not that funny. » I grumbled.

«Had it happened to me, you would have laughed until you were unconscious. » He grinned and flicked my forehead.

«Kaaarp. » Levys called us, though he sounded as if he had trouble speaking.

We had to admit later that he really had been extremely intelligible for a magikarp carrying a pokéball in his mouth.

«…Err… » Martin hesitated and looked at me, frowning.

I only leaned forward and opened my hand so Levys could drop the net ball in it.

When he did, it felt a bit heavier than I remembered.

«Huh… I could swear it was lighter… » I closed my fingers on it, tilting my arm up and down. Still frowning, I decided to put it back into my backpack. That should prevent it from falling again…

There, I felt a small nudge in my hand, where the net ball was resting.

Wait…

«Hum… I suppose a congratulation is in order, champ. » Martin patted my back, having already understood.

«What…? »

«I can't say I remember knowing a trainer that caught a pokémon without even seeing it first. » It was a painful smile that I saw when I looked up to him.

«You're not saying… »

«I am. Your mother's pokéball now contains a pokémon. Your team now consists of two water types. So, for that dream of taking the champion's title with just Levys… »

OH FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS!

«No. » I said, perfectly in control of my EMOTIONS that were not completely out of control, because I had no REASON to…

My legs were weak now and I decided to sit down before I collapsed.

«Champ? » Martin asked tentatively.

Really? That soon? I had hoped I would not break my promise until… well, I figured I'd manage not to break it.

Wow, only one badge and I already had a second pokémon. Allan and Anna both only had one and had more than five each.

«Give me a break… »

«Okay, I get it, you promised not to catch any other pokémon than Levys. Well, you can always release it if it's too much trouble. » He innocently remarked. Martin, understandably, was a model of calm and smooth happiness. Well, that second part was hidden, but so far, he really appeared to be seventy percent good mood instead of water.

I kept silent.

Because I had already thought about that.

But I was still trapped. A pokéball could only be used once. Afterward, it was just a broken mess even if you released the pokémon it had been used against.

She had tried really hard this time to understand my passion for training… She had been afraid for me and that love had pushed her to get me a present she thought I'd like.

I knew she had suggested that I'd sell it if there was a problem, but I had sincerely rejected that solution.

«She never bought me anything related to pokémon before… » I muttered.

I couldn't tell if I wanted to be heard or not, but Martin caught it anyway.

«Oh, so that's what it is about? Well… I admit that if you want to please everyone, it'll be a bit complicated… » He scratched his chin and looked slightly more intelligent than usual.

That was weird, I had no idea someone could successfully pull that look …

«Who did you make that promise to? » He asked, his eyes directed toward the sky.

«Anna… »

«I think you should wait until you meet her. Ask her if you can keep that pokémon with you and explain why. Perhaps she will let you off easy. »

I let out a very nervous laugh at that.

«Huh? » Martin tilted his head to the side.

«Yeah… I doubt that. She really doesn't like people that don't keep their promises. » I bit my lips anxiously. That was my best bet though… «I think I'll follow your advice. »

«Good choice. I am an endless source of good advice and deep ideas and pokémon knowledge and - »

«Shoes? » I snorted.

«No, not that. » He raised a finger and waved it in all seriousness… which was ridiculous in itself. « There is an end to that part of me. I mean, a guy can only sneak off so much behind his boss's back before he gets fired, you know? »

«See? That's why delivery men are lame! » I grinned, laughing at his indignant reaction.

* * *

I was wet, muddy, covered in leaves (how he had managed to find those on a dock in the middle of a river, I did not know, but I strongly suspected Linda to be behind it) and thoroughly tired when we arrived at the pokémon center at the end of the day.

We would of course be welcomed by a Nurse Joy and the professional kindness of her profession.

«Would you look at that? » A woman that resembled a nurse with pink hair and wearing nurse's clothes pointed at me, laughing her butt off with a chansey.

What?

I stared, mouth blocked in a wide open position to show my indignation. Seriously! What the heck was that?

«What happened to you two? » She questioned, moving around her counter, her eyes shining with tears of joy now.

Martin's grin widened when he saw her and passed an arm around my shoulder, forcing me closer to him (to my great horror, of course).

«Oh, just a little quarrel between traveling companions, Harmonia. » He dragged me up to her counter, where she was waiting impatiently for us to get closer.

«You never change, Martin. » She was leaning toward us, her chin resting on both her open hands.

«Huh? » My focus shifted between the two. Did they know each other?

«You know that's how you like me, Harmonia. » He waved eyebrows at her and she snorted, at least disproving that it wasn't that kind of relationship.

It would just have felt weird to imagine a Nurse Joy married to someone.

«Keep dreaming, Slyder. »

«I will, of you. »

Oh. Dear. Arceus.

Martin was really flirting! With my head locked under his arm!

Hum… that probably didn't look very sexy.

The nurse apparently called Harmonia (they had names?) was not very impressed either.

«Alright, let's cut half of our ritual crap, dear heart. Yes, there's a room available, no, it's not mine. Yes, there is some food ready for you, no, it's not handmaded, it's chansey-pawmaded. Of course I will take your pokémon for a health check, but no we will not be playing doctors together, you'll have to pay for that. »

«You're really no fun, Harmonia. » Martin smiled sheepishly, Nurse Joy's prediction being right on.

I reached for the nurse's hand and high fived her, under both the adults' questioning eyes.

Martin finally deemed it was time to let me go and I felt with delight some air go through my throat without trouble.

«Cry later, Martin. » She rolled her eyes in annoyance and turn to me. «I am very sorry, young man. I must appear very unprofessional to you. My name is Harmonia Joy and I am the nurse in charge of this pokémon center. How may I help you? »

I blinked stupidly at her, taken aback by the very sudden change of attitude and even of speech pattern.

«Pardon my assumption, but would you like to get a room for the night, one with a bath?» The light of amusement was still there, but other than that she was acting like every single other Nurse Joy I had ever met.

«Hum… yes, please. » I nodded, resisting the urge to scrub the dirt off my skin in the hallway.

«Oh, Harmonia! Is it possible to get a room with two beds actually? » Martin interjected.

«…you're not going to do anything to could get you in jail, are you? » The nurse was frowning at him while I was trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean.

«Wowowowowowowoooooow! » Martin frantically shook his head and hands right and left and, as far as I could tell, had paled. «That's just nasty, Harmonia. »

The nurse's face was mischievous again.

«I could have been talking about a number of things, Martin… It's rather revealing that you jumped to that conclusion. »

The impossible happened. I got to see Martin moody.

«You're a sick witch, Harmonia. »

«You know that's how you love me. » She replied sweetly.

Without another word, Martin dropped his pokéballs, three to be exact, and mumbled about going upstairs.

Which he did.

Five seconds later, it was just me and that peculiar Nurse Joy.

«Well, that was satisfying. » She declared, after making sure he was gone.

«Can you teach me how to do that? » I asked eagerly, to which she responded with sincere laugher.

«I am afraid I cannot, young man. This technique only works when it is used by me. »

«Darn… » I pouted.

«I am certain you will develop your own techniques to deal with it sooner or later. » She tried to reassure me.

«…yeah, but right now, he can be a literal pain in the neck to deal with. » I grumbled, rubbing my sore neck.

«I agree. » She nodded and I got to see that little glitter of cheerfulness again. «Now, back to business, is there any pokémon that you would like me to take care of? »

That ordinary question suddenly brought me back to the issue at hand.

«Yes! I… I just… » Caught wasn't the right word for such a convoluted chain of circumstances. «Hum… got a new pokémon and I would like to have you establish a complete profile of it. Would that be alright? » I attempted a timid smile. Perhaps she was the kind of woman swooned by children's beautiful teeth?

«That would be a pain, but since it IS my job… of course I will. » She grinned and I handed over the net ball.

«What pokémon is it? » She asked as she started typing on her computer.

…I did not know.

Wow, I actually did not know what pokémon I had captured. I was so focused on escaping Martin (and anxious about my promise, of course) that I had forgotten to check about that insignificant detail.

«Are you saying you do not know what pokémon you caught? » Harmonia Joy sounded very incredulous, so much that I blushed. «Martin is a bad influence. It will fry your brain to stay with him for too long. Be careful. »

With that, she opened the pokéball and freed my second battler.

The light quickly took the shape of a small bipedal creature, with what appeared as antlers on the side of its head.

«Wooooo. » It cried.

My heart sank a little. I had used up my mother's gift on a regular wooper.

My vision was filled with mud.

«…my… that is quite… » Nurse Joy said with the usual kind tone of her profession, except that she was totally hiding her desire to laugh.

«Urgh! I don't NEED more mud than what is already on my face. » I growled and I heard the same snarky sound as when that wooper first attacked me.

«Personality: nasty. » She stated while biting the inside of her cheeks.

«Yeah, I noticed! » I tried to wipe my face clean, only to be pushed backward by a small jet of water. «Le- argh- Levys! »

I turned around and threw his pokéball where I estimated was the wooper's position. A small smacking sound was soon heard, followed by a weak «Woooooo».

When I turned back, the little follower of Giratina had fainted and was lying next to my loyal magikarp. I grateful returned him with the promise of an extra reward later tonight.

«Can you make that one: very nasty? Just for the sake of truthfulness. » I rested my forehead against the counter in despair.

This was really turning out badly.

«I will pull some strings. » Harmonia smiled mockingly and continued writing on my new pokémon's profile.

«Race: wooper, of course. Gender: female. Personality: (very) nasty. Age: two years old. Ability : Water absorb. Notable features: none. » She enumerated the characteristics of my pokémon while I listened halfheartedly. «I will need your trainer's ID to complete it. »

Without a word, I handed her the small card that was proof I was a legal trainer.

For another minute, the pokémon center was silent with the sole exception of the noise of computer keys being pressed.

«If you would please hand me over your magikarp's pokéball as well, I will go take care of them immediately. »

Once more, I nodded without a word and she left the hall with her chansey, which had remained suspiciously unnoticeable until now. Perhaps that was just me being much too concerned about my own little problems than me.

«Congratulations. » She said upon her return. «Both of your pokémon are now perfectly healthy. For further bonding, I suggest that you leave them both out of their pokéball for the night. »

That had to be on purpose. If it wasn't, I was a snorlax.

* * *

«Wait… so she used both Mud Shot and Water Gun at you as soon as you left her out of her pokéball? » Martin was tilting his head in confusion, which made him look a bit like Big-Eyes.

«Yeah. She was laughing about it too. » I sat on the bed, of a beautiful blue that matched with the marine theme of the room, feeling emptied of my energy. That had been one eventful day and I was still supposed to let that little beast out of her pokéball before sleep.

«You can't really blame Harmonia for that. »

«I was talking about my wooper. » I glared in his general direction. Ah, I bet that scared him out of his mind…

«Oh. »

I lied down sighing. This pokémon journey was really not turning at all like I had planned. For starters, I was not supposed to have this much trouble.

«Kaaaarp. » My attention was captured by Levys and I stood up.

«Oh, I didn't feed you yet, did I? »

«Karp. » He strongly confirmed my guess.

«Alright, give me a second. » I fetched the box of pokémon food and formed the usual portion Levys ate (two balls molded with both hands, I had given up on doing three as recommended since Levys never finished it).

«There you go, Levys. » I dropped them into his fish tank and he happily swallowed the first one whole. «Wow, you were getting hungry. »

«Karp. » He nodded while munching on the second one.

«Hey champ, you should take your wooper now. Levys and her might bond over food. That works sometimes. » Martin suggested, taking out a bowl he had carried in his backpack.

«I'm not sure I want to let her out right now… » I hesitated, remembering the previous fiascos. I liked my face mud-free.

«If that can make you feel safer, I will ask one of my pals to watch her. » He proposed and that sounded tempting, if not for the fact that I was wary of his ledian.

«Linda will murder her after five minutes. » I refused the offer, even if the fresh memory of the laughing little monster was making it hard.

No, bad champion, no throwing your pokémon to the sharpedos because they annoy the Reverse World out of you.

«That's why I was thinking of someone else. » Martin grinned mysteriously and I knew I was sold. I did not know he had more than just Linda. As a champion in training, I had to know what team I would crush first.

«Oh, sure then. »

«Hey, Skull, you can come out to play. » He dropped an Ultra ball and I took a step back to see the massive shape that was materializing in front of me.

My heart made a somersault, followed by a triple axel and two or three reversal when I came face to face with the biggest houndoom I had ever seen. It was even taller than me!

«Champ, meet Mr. DoomMcSkull. » Martin stood up to stroke his pokémon's back affectionately.

«DoomMcSkull? » I snorted, trying to hide my hilarity just not to get my head bitten off by the monster in front of me.

«Yup, but I shorten that to Skull most of the time. It would be a bit inconvenient in battles otherwise. »

«Seriously? DoomMcSkull is the name you gave to your houndoom? » Martin! That guy was just trying to get me killed and disguise it as an accident. I was getting cramp in my stomach just trying not to laugh and provoke that beast!

«I was a in a megomaniac phase when I captured him, so… yeah. That's his name. » He shrugged, as if that was enough to get me killed over something that ridiculous.

I slightly panicked when the giant dog narrowed his eyes at me and my brain started sending orders for shaking knees and nervous giggles.

Which was not very smart. Thanks brain!

…Traitor.

The houndoom finally decided it had enough and jumped on me.

The terror paralyzed my entire body and I nearly shut down at the sight of his mouth opening and…

…licking my face?

YIKES! A GIANT DOG WAS LICKING MY FACE! AND HIS BREATH SMELLED HORRIBLE!

«Stop it! » I tried to push Skull away, but the thing was so strong he barely noticed.

«Awww, don't be like that, lil' teddy. Skull is really just a big puppy. »

«Puppy? PUPPY? » I screeched, making Skull whimper and back away. «He's bigger than me! »

The houndoom proceeded to back away and hide behind Martin, his tail between his legs.

«Oh, the scary little teddybear didn't mean it like that. » He then kneeled, which put his face slightly below his pokémon's, and adopted the tone of a person cooing over a baby.

Even Levys was blinking in stupor.

«Karp karp magikarp kaaaaarp? » He said, which sounded to me like: «Is this a dream or things are just nuts? »

The dark type barked happily and proceeded to drown Martin in his drool. Finally something positive.

«You're a good boy. » He laughed and started tickling Skull, which quickly degenerate into a small brawl. Unfortunately, they found it funny to drag me into it.

It ended with me being crushed under the weight of a giant dog.

«I think he likes you. » Martin smiled maliciously.

«Okay, now that I can't breathe, let me at least say my dying wish…» Cue the dramatic cough. « He's a dark type, supposed to be sneaky, dirty handed, you know, DARK. What's the deal with THAT? »

«He's just like that. Skull was always a big puppy, even when he was just a little puppy. »

I groaned of physical pain… because my ears were bleeding at this point.

«Skull, what does master have here? » Martin held a cookie shaped like a mareep and waved it wildly into the air.

Instantly, the houndoom jumped on his feet and ran to his master while waving his tail. He was rewarded with a special treat and he barked joyfully. After a silent order had led it to sit obediently, Skull watched Martin focus his attention back to me.

«Okay, I think I already explained that one to you, but let me repeat it, cub. » He lifted me and, before I could free myself, he gave me a noogie. «Stop being such a drama queen. »

«I'm not a drama queen! Let me go! » I begged for mercy, feeling a thousand pains devastating the interior of my skull and threatening to destroy the fragile equilibrium of my mind and heart!

…okay, maybe what Martin said made sense after all.

«You show the dreadful symptoms of one, lil' teddy. » Martin grinned, but ultimately let me go.

«It's your fault. » I grumbled. «You're the only one that ever called me that. It's your dreadful presence that makes people act out of character. You made a Nurse Joy mischievous, for Arceus' sake! »

«Hey, don't swear like that. » He walked up to Levys aquarium and poked the glass with one nail. « I didn't make Harmonia mischievous. Everything has its own personality, I thought you'd know after catching Levys. She was always like that and I personally think it's great. They've probably get the hardest job in the world, so I like it when they show some emotion they're not contractually obligated to show. »

«Huh… what? »

«They're all individuals in their own right, you know? Sure, there's the big deal of them all looking the same, but they're part of the same family, what do people expect? It helps when you get to know them as person too. Besides Harmonia, do you know any of their names? »

«Well, that's… »

«Come on, teddy. Wasn't there one at the pokémon center in Mahogany? » He pressed the issue and I felt my cheeks burn.

Yes, there had been. The problem was that I had never visited the center because Anna didn't like them and when she left, it was too painful of a reminder.

«Stop. » I asked. Ask, not order.

Martin seemed to catch my drift, fortunately.

«Alright, but they're the thing that keeps training alive. Be thankful to them, okay? » His voice was really soft this time. It made much more impact than some stern orders.

«Yeah… » I looked down and Martin bit his lips.

Awkward…

«Karp karp. » Levys splashed Martin and that broke the spell.

Thank you, awesome starter.

«I think you just throw pokéfood on my uniform, Levys. » Martin stretched the hideous jacket to get a better look at the possible disaster. I did.

«Don't worry, it looks better that way. »

Honestly, I saw it coming.

Which is why I hid behind Skull, turning him into the perfect shield. Martin came to a halt when Skull tried to get closer to him with big happy puppy eyes. He could not resist the charm of his own pokémon.

I saw the excruciating pain of trying to ignore him, but that was a lost battle.

I underestimated him.

«Hey, good boy, you want to play? » He adopted an overly excited tone that made the houndoom shake with anticipation. «Lil' teddy wants to play with you , go. »

Irony.

I found myself stomped flat by an hundred pounds beast that only understood «play with me and have fun putting all your weight on one of my fragile ribs» when I said «stop and return in your pokéball for another century! » .

In my struggle, I foolishly opened my wooper's net ball.

There was a second of astonishment in the room. I stared at my wooper in fear she would give in to her blood thirst. Skull stared at the tiny thing that appeared out of nowhere when he was playing with the little master thing. My wooper stared at the giant dog pokémon that could eat her in one bite without paying any attention to me.

Martin and Levys had the expression of people watching a movie unravel, snack included. Just a silent fascination.

Timidly, Skull pushed my second pokémon with his muzzle, only for hey to screech and spit water in the canine's face. He whimpered away and hid his tail between his leg, to the jaw dropping surprise of both my pokémon and I.

She showed me exactly what «small name, big ego» was the very next instant.

She walked up to Martin's houndoom, head held high and started dancing mockingly. Of course, she probably didn't expect Skull to grab her with his paws and try to play with that funny moving pokémon he had just seen.

That reaction was met with more water and mud, but beyond the initial surprise, Skull ignored her attack completely.

I stood up and fought the very powerful feeling of triumph that was chanting in my head. Oh sweet karma, how I love you when you're not messing with me.

Then again, she was supposed to be my pokémon and I had to stood up for her to some extent. Hum… a few more minutes could not hurt though.

«Skull, come here, boy. » Martin clapped on his legs as an invitation and the houndoom let go of my poor traumatized wooper in favor of his master. «That's my boy. You and I are on the same wavelength. »

My eyes widened. Crap… he was right! His pokémon and him were both mocking and teasing my pokémon and me! I suddenly felt more sympathetic toward my wooper.

«Come here, girl. » I tried to pick her up. That's when I realized two things; the first being that woopers were covered in a slimy substance that made them slip on human skin. The second was that while I may have felt more sympathetic to her, she certainly did not return the sentiment.

So, after being the receiving end of another Water Gun, I let her walk to a corner of the room and sulk.

«Okay, this might turn out to be really fun, champ. I look forward to seeing this team of yours evolve even further. » Martin snickered (which earned him another splash of water, courtesy of my loyal magikarp).

«Yeah… » I was not sure about this.

«So have you thought of a name for her then? » He asked, petting his houndoom with one hand.

«Hum… no, not yet… » I glanced at my wooper, who had started looking at us when she felt the conversation was about her. «I hadn't realized I had caught a wooper until Nurse Joy asked me… »

Bad idea. She glared at me, probably feeling that I had not even cared. Which was false to a reasonable extent.

«Hum… I need to think about this one. »

«Kaaarp! » Levys splashed Martin some more, this time unintentionally.

«You… have an idea? » I risked, not quite sure how to deal with that.

«Karp! » He nodded and I bit my lips.

«That's nice, but… I'm not sure calling her «Karp» would be a good… »

The end of that sentence never saw the light of the late evening. It was slapped out of me before I got the chance to complete it.

My pokémon were all against me today.

Levys, with a great agility, made a jump with Splash and returned to his aquarium. Even Martin had to admit there was a considerable progress in his way to move on land.

«Karp! » He pushed his body forward, straight as an arrow, in the direction of the corner my wooper was sulking in. Although it was more accurate to describe that as pointing to the painting on the wall above her.

«…What is that? » I frowned, looking at Martin for answers.

«Oh, that's the artist Cornazzo's representation of the Salamander. »

Well, that explains so much… NOT!

«It is an imaginary pokémon that was believed to be the creator of all rivers. The recent cultural exchanges between the region and scientific evidences however proved that it was mostly the power of Kyogre and Lugia that were to blame and that the Salamander was just a myth. »

«Is that what you meant, Levys? » I was skeptical that my magikarp could know of such a creature when I had no idea.

«Kaaaaarp. » He floated sideways, for the first time. Fortunately, the look of hesitation was enough to get the message.

«Okay, you did not know the whole thing about it, but you thought she looked a bit like that, right? »

«Karp! »

I grinned. Good, I was getting better at understanding Levys.

«That's not a bad idea, champ. You could use that. »

«Salamander? But that's not girly at all!» If I twisted it a little, maybe… «I think I got it! » I exclaimed.

Everyone stared at me as I walked to my wooper and declared with a smile.

«I'm going to call you Dora. Welcome to the team. »

«Woo. » Her eyes glittered with malice and she spat water at me.

I had a baaaaaad feeling about this.

* * *

**Hey Guys! Did you like this other episode of bratty champ's (aka lil' teddy aka precious farfetch'd) adventures? What do you think of the new characters introduced in this chapter?**

** Don't worry, the end-of-chapter-notes aren't really my thing, so you won't see them often. Anyway, let's get this over with: That was a LONG chapter. Gee, I thought I'd never reach that point in the storyline when it was 75% done(who said split the chapter in two?). Was that too long? I forgot what I wrote at some point in the first ten pages when I was down to thirty. But that doesn't matter. I'm debating over some details of the story, so I thought I'd ask readers' opinion. First of all, do you want this future champ to get a fully disfunctional team or just a mostly epic one(specialized in water type most probably, keep that in mind)?**


	9. To start a stable relationship

**To start a stable relationship**

«Well, champ, I think we are ready to go this time. Nothing will stop us from – »

«Stop jinxing the heck out of us! » I forcefully covered his mouth with both hands.

His response was to wait for me to feel the fatigue force my arms down.

Surely enough, it became too much of a hassle to restrain him from tempting fate like that.

«Are you really that superstitious, lil' teddy? » He smirked mockingly at me, as if ready to comfort me should I answer yes.

«That's not superstition, Martin! That's just the law of probability! » I replied, crossing my arms over my chest and looking away.

«Now you are just paranoid. » He leaned against the pokémon center, next to Harmonia which was looking at the both of us with a certain interest.

«Do I NEED to remind you of what happened the first two times? » I glared at him and the nurse, seeing as she was laughing silently now.

* * *

«Well, that was a good night of sleep and we made it as far as I had estimated yesterday, but we better not leave too late. If we get sidetracked now, we might end up sleeping in the Union cave and somehow, I get the feeling you wouldn't like it. »

«Nurse Joy! » A girl about my age ran into the center. «My poliwag fell into a hole in the docks and it's been feeling dizzy ever since. Can you heal it? »

«Of course. » She grabbed the water type delicately and placed it onto a stretcher to be taken away for an examination by her chansey.

The trainer followed the nurse pokémon deeper into the center while I adopted the color of a healthy salad.

«Now, now… a hole in the docks… » Harmonia wondered out loud, frowning. «I wonder who could possibly responsible for this sort of misbehavior. » Her eyes fell on us and we suddenly thought it was smart to whistle innocently.

Stupid movies make it look so easy to pull off.

«Yeah, that's what I thought. Sorry, Slyder, but you're not going anywhere until you fix that mess. » As if produced from the void, she took out a hammer and some nails. «You'll find whatever else you may need in the storage outside. »

She sent him off with a slap in the back that made me wince. Even if it was Martin.

«And don't you dare try to escape your duties! I'm keeping the kid hostage and won't free him until you get back. » She announced loudly while holding me by the shoulders.

The light of amusement that went through his eyes induced a cold shiver in my whole being. Why did she say that?

Against all odds, he did return an hour and a half later, looking almost disappointed that I was still there.

«This time, I think we are ready to go. » He looked more confident and I had some hopes that my luck wouldn't be that bad.

Oh how wrong I was.

A corpulent man well over thirty hesitantly walked on the road leading up to the building. When he got to the center, we could all see his blush. From the way he looked away when Martin tilted his head, that guy was clearly feeling guilty.

«A-are you traveling to the Union Cave? » Oh, I could just see it coming now.  
«We were planning to. » I said, praying for a miracle.

«T-that's too bad… my onyx just caused a scree near the entrance. I-I told my machokes to clean the place, but it won't be usable for another hour at least. »

At this point, Harmonia just disappeared from our sight, though not in time to prevent us from hearing her very obvious fit of laugher.

* * *

«Do I? » I gritted my teeth, ignoring the visible wince my own ears were against.

«Point taken, champ. » Martin sighed. «There might be some truth to your concept of tempting fate. I doubt Arceus would be that sadistic, but you never know. »

He could just have a grudge against me for some obscure reason… like I was the reincarnation of a mad man that had tried to destroy all reality and rebuilt it to my whim. Though that could have been a bit lacking in the evil department for the punishment I was getting now.

«But this time, I have a good feeling about it. » Martin started walking, humming a little tune that was surprisingly useful to relieve our boredom.

«Hey, Martin's tagalong kid. » Harmonia called quietly.

«What? » I asked, one eye twitching.

«Keep an eye on him for me, would you? He's my only regular visitor and I'd hate to have this center shut down for a lack of trainers. »

The confidence made me blink. Was… was the situation really that bad? This center was at risk of being shut down?

«Oh, don't make a face like that. It was bound to happen sooner or later with all those regulations the government is coming up with. » She dismissed my shock with a simple hand wave. «If that happened, I'd go help my cousin Mercy that works at the feet of Mont Silver. She always has so much work that she'd welcome me with open arms. »

I did not quite know how to answer to that strong optimism. If I was in her shoes, I would be raging against the heavens. It had to come with being a nurse.

«No, my real concern is for this idiot. I know he's strong enough to handle anything the world by himself, but he is a bit fragile too. »

«That… made a lot of sense… » I said with a neutral voice.

«Smarty pants. » She smacked me on the shoulder and I held out for a squeak of pain.

«Hey! You're a nurse, isn't it against your ideals to hurt people? » I pointed out, a bit resentful.

«Nope. » She stepped back and smiled. «I only vowed to heal every single being that was hurt. Speaking of which, are you hurt? I can use my gentle and delicate expertise to make you feel all better. » She proposed with the look of a sharpedo chasing a goldeen.

«NothanksI'llpass! Allbetternow!» I decided that running for my life was the smart choice here and that even if Martin was probably going to get me kill someday, it'd be entirely by accident.

He seemed to have expected no less from Harmonia, since he didn't blink when I finally caught up to him.

«It's a beautiful day, isn't it? » He commented cheerfully, still humming his favorite song.

«If you're speaking strictly about the weather, yes. » I mumbled moodily. What was it with me and meeting psychos?

«She did it to you. » He stated, grinning.

«Huh? » How had he known that?

«Harmonia really starts to play games with people she likes. You made a pretty good impression, champ. You're awesome. » And he put me through an ursaring hug.

I saw stars and my head felt light not a minute after, oxygen deprivation and all.

«I'm impressed. She was probably not even in the mood for socialization with the training strained by all those kidnappings… » He let me go and continued walking on the road, looking pensive.

A strange cold crawled all the way to my guts.

What would happen if Harmonia's pokémon center was brought down? Would the other follow? The centers were the reason training was even possible! And if they were gone… so would Anna's dream, Allan's and mine…

I shook my head.

No, this was not going to happen.

«Champ? » Martin's voice brought me out of my reverie.

We were almost there. The cave was visible from here… or more specifically, the demolition site was. That hiker guy sure had caused a lot of damage…

«Wow… he was not kidding when he said we were lucky it had not taken all day… » I made a leap over a small hole in the road. A circular zone around the cave was looking like a barren wasteland… that had suddenly fallen on a forest.

I detected many trees buried under the rocks and the sand and tried not to wonder if anything had been caught under the rubbles.

«Yeah… » Martin replied absentmindedly, observing and gauging the extent of the damages done. He did not appear to like what he saw.

I cautiously stepped back when he released Skull. I had taken a bath in the morning and I did not need another. Especially considering how bad his breath stank…

«Hey, my boy, is there anyone else? » Martin kneeled, his speech pattern dropping a few levels again, and scratched his houndoom's neck with both hands.

It was always a bit scary to see such a big pokémon waving his tail with joy and enthusiastically jump around, sniffling the ground to please his master.

Five minutes passed, during which I constantly stayed on my guards (just in case…), but eventually, Martin gave up and returned his pokémon after praising it softly.

«Okay, champ, I think we are ready to enter the cave and should hurry if we don't want to spend the night with a lot of zubats. »

How bad could it be?

Yes, I did realize what I had just done.

* * *

«Arceus forsaken little spawn of rotting Giratina! » I snapped!

«Oh, this one was inventive. » Martin commented with a furious desire to laugh.

Everywhere… absolutely everywhere!

There was not an inch of this cave that was not filled with capacity with those little monsters!

I was on the verge of using my forehead lamp (courtesy of Martin, of course) and whatever in my backpack to create a bomb. I was not sure how I would manage but there had to be a way.

My all-encompassing hatred for these Arceusdamned bats would somehow create a miracle.

«I think you need to rest a little before we continue further into the cave. » Martin stated, putting his bags onto the ground and sitting down.

«W-why do you say that? » I asked, holding a rock so tightly that my palms were hurting.

«Well, there's the fact that you're foaming at the mouth… » He grabbed two apples and threw me one. «Relax. You're likely to repeat what you did earlier if you don't. »

«That wasn't MY fault! » I yelled, shaking with indignation.

«Oh, right, I forgot. » Martin claimed, as truthful as a tyranitar saying it only wanted to play. «It was the lamp I gave you that did not light up your path properly, leading to you tripping on that rock that probably was put there as a trap. All that resulted in you rolling down a small rocky hill and falling into a zubat's nesting area. Incidentally, that had to be a conspiracy where my defective equipment is at the core of everything, making me the real reason you tripped in the first place, right? »

It did sound ridiculous said like that by Martin (most of what he said sounded like that anyway), but that was perfectly right. It was not my fault.

«Now that you lifted the veil on my horrible plans and, of course, my dark soul that will trick you sooner or later into a pact, can you sit down and eat? » He casually took another bite of the fruit he was holding, making my stomach growl.

«Fine… » I sat down, defeated.

The only positive side to that event was that Levys had gotten a lot of experience, fending off many bats with one Tail Slap (the advantage of smacking a zone with a high density zubat filled air). When I high fived him, I was fairly certain that the weight of the attack had been heavier than before. Hopefully, that was not just wishful thinking.

That small paused had been well inspired as I felt much better afterward. Well, maybe not that much, but still… the idea of bombing the cave had been put away.

For now.

«Alright, lil' teddy. We should get going now. » He stretched as he stood up and packed his things again with the clear intent of covering as much distance as possible today.

Was I paranoid for thinking this could still degenerate further?

Martin didn't let me reflect on that any longer and put me on my feet himself. A second later, he pushed me in the back and we started walking again.

* * *

The positive note was that even if we regularly met zubats now, at least they were rarely moving in groups.

«Tail Slap! » I shouted, pointing toward the flying pokémon.

Levys leaped in the air, with the firm intention of smacking that beast out of our way.

Unfortunately, even if Levys was agile in the air, he was still facing a flying type.

The zubat easily dodged, ascending higher than my magikarp could hope to reach with his original momentum. Then, with a hit from one wing, it sent him toward the ground.

«Levys! » I stepped forward in concern.

The zubat took it as another sign of aggression and dove my way. Before I could react, a blue blur pass me by and I felt a burning sensation on my right cheek.

«Ouch! » I winced and raised a hand to the level of the cut. Something warm and humid came in contact with my fingers… my blood.

The rest happened a bit too quickly for any of us to react.

«Kaaaaaaaaaaaarp! »

Levys's body flew right over our head, a savage expression on his face, and made contact with the bat pokémon.

The zubat fell unconscious under the weight of my magikarp.

«R-return… » I pointed the pokéball and the red beam absorbed Levys.

For a moment, I stared at the item I was holding with a deep confusion… what happened? This had been the first time Levys had ever shown me to kind of aggressive behavior.

«Show me that cut. » Martin turned me around and leaned closer to examine the place the zubat had hit me. «Hum… that doesn't look really bothersome or anything. A simple Band-Aid should do the trick. » He declared and handed me his small first-aid kit.

Even as I struggled to open the plastic bag containing the goods (What were they thinking? If this was an emergency I could have bled to death!), the image of my magikarp's rage did not leave my mind.

Was it because the zubat had attacked me?

«You're getting moody. » Martin stated with a tone of warning.

«What...? » I tilted my head sideway before I remembered what had happened the last time he had said that. «No! No, I'm not moody at all! See? » I backed away slowly, just like in front of a startled wild pokémon. «Happiness and joy and enthusiasm, all in one! »

He ruffled my hair and snickered. It seemed that I had thankfully dodged the headlock for now…

«Nice. I was afraid you'd start mopping over your pokémon's display of affection. »

He grinned at my stupefaction and he started walking again. I grumbled something about his stupidity and how annoying he was, and then I ran to catch up to him.

I was almost at his level when his arm flew backward and stopped me dead on my track. The hit had not been particularly comfortable and I glared at my traveling companion.

«That's weird… I didn't remember the current being that loud. » He tilted his head slightly and scratched his chin again.

«Huh? »

«There is a small river nearby; you should be able to hear it. » Indeed, now that I knew what he meant, I could make out a certain rumbling noise in the echoes of the cave.

We stood still, listening to the majestic sound of water flowing and slowly eroding the cave, one day carving it into the ground and Johto would be free of this zubat infested place.

«It's probably just my imagination. It's been months since I last went through the Union Cave. » Martin shrugged and resumed walking.

What had been the point of this then?

True to his words, we found a river soon enough, which was flowing at what looked like an ordinary river, the inherent darkness excluded.

«Well, I think that might be a good occasion to travel with your pokémon out, don't you think? »

«Hum… » I grimaced at the prospect of sending them both out.

«Levys and Dora could use some time spend learning about one another, right? » That would have been a convincing argument, if not for…

«Yesterday. » I crossed my arms stubbornly. There was no need to say anything more.

«I'll give it to you that they had a rocky start, but that doesn't mean you should give up on them so easily. » He did not register my objection and disdain more than a second.

Really, I would have thought he'd be opposed to me sending them both out at the same time by now.

After all, HE was the one that had received a thrown wooper square in the face, with enough force to knock him over. No, I had nothing to do with it other than trying to get Levys and Dora to get to know each other.

I had no idea exactly what they had said to each other in that fish tank, but I had only heard a splash followed by a panicked «Woooooooooooo-! Smack. » . My brain did not process the information quickly enough, as Dora had already flown over my head and crashed into Martin when I turned toward Levys.

My magikarp was looking proud of himself, at least twice as much as when he had beaten the goldeen.

The shouting match that followed gave me a headache and I opted for returning Dora for the time being.

So it was understandable that I was not enthusiastic with the idea of freeing them in a fifty meter radius of one another. Then again, with enough luck, Martin would somehow get the short end of the stick again. My evil laugh stayed purely mental, though my evil grin brought a skeptical and slightly condescending expression on his face.

«Levys, Dora, come on out. » I called, throwing the two pokéballs at once, only to fail catching them back at the same time.

Note to self: one pokéball at a time, thank you.

Of course, as soon as Dora appeared, she thought it would be a nice moment to remind me that she was not in a good mood, by ways of a Mud Shot. I did not need my eyesight to know that Martin was laughing silently again.

Alright Karma, you win. You can go haunt someone else!

«Karp! » Levys jumped to my defense, his eyes narrowed on my other water type.

Wait, Karma! You can stay!

«Wooooper. » She took two steps in his direction, her species' trademark smile looking much like a frown.

«Guys, stop that! » It was my team after all. I had to show some authority.

Too bad Dora was a rebel.

She deliberately ignored me and even turned her back on me. There had to be some sort of law against that!

«Look at the positive side of things, champ. Neither of them started a fight. » He patted my back with fake sympathy.

I ignored him and we went on with our journey in silence. Dora was taking the lead, walking head high, close to the stream. This made me smile. There was something endearingly cute about that girl acting like a princess all the time. A spoiled brat of a princess, sure, but still a princess.

By comparison, Levys was much more mature, but that was not really surprising considering that he was indeed older.

When we met the occasional wild geodudes, Dora just stepped back in disdain, leaving him to do all the work. If we had not been so close to a body of water, their rock typing could have turned problematic.

Each victory from Levys should have been a glorious event (and to some extent, it was), but Dora's refusal to fight made me cringe every time. It was already an issue to keep her around, but this was just making it harder. Should I just keep her as a pet?

A screech brought me out of my thoughts as another cloud of zubats descended on us.

My vision was filled with blue wings and sharp fangs.

For approximately ten seconds.

They had made the mistake of pissing off both Levys and Dora, the former because they were attacking me, the latter because one had tried to push her off her little rock/pedestal.  
The zubats were mercilessly shot down by a combination of a flailing tail and some sniper shots of muds.

I looked at the fleeing pokémon nervously. Martin on the other hand whistled appreciatively.

«Not bad at all. »

«Woo! » Dora exclaimed joyfully, before realizing we were staring at her in astonishment. Her attitude instantly changed for cold sulking.

I held back a furious desire to snort. She was adorable!

Then my sympathy shifted toward the zubats that had shared my fate, namely mud to the face.

Dora apparently had a sixth sense for that sort of thing. Great.

I kneeled next to the river and started washing it when an accusation went through my head.

«Hey! Martin, why is it that you never help whenever a wild pokémon attack me? » I turned to him, indignant.

«You're the trainer here, right? » He pointed out with a smile. «I gave up on that a little while ago. I am but a humble delivery man working his butt off to get his job done. Besides, if you want your pokémon to get stronger, you can't rely on me to do everything for you. »

Curse you, logic! Why did you have to agree with Martin? He's all but logical if he's not finding some way to annoy me!

«Think of it this way, Levys is bound to have gotten much stronger after defeating all those zubats. This place is perfect for leveling up before Bugsy's gym. »

The prospect of Levys getting even stronger sure was nice enough to attenuate my foul mood.

Speaking of which…

«Where's Levys? » I shot a look at my surroundings.

I was pretty sure he had jumped back into the river after the attack, but I could not see him anywhere.

A few meters away from me, Levys' head suddenly pierced the surface long enough for him to let a panicked «Kaarp! ». A second later, he was dragged under the surface. My blood turned to ice.

«Levys! » I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I acted without thinking. My legs followed an impulse and I dove headfirst in the cold stream.

It was dark, it was cold and it brought some bad memories to my mind.

A pair of tentacle… dragging mother away… just like it was dragging him.

NO! I'd never let that happen to him!

My arms and my legs moved faster than they ever did, my eyes hurt as more and more water, my lungs were already starting to protest at the lack of air, but I didn't care!

Closer. I had to get closer.

I could not let Levys die. I could not let him die.

He was frozen in fear, entangled in the tentacles of a tentacool. Those were giving off a faint purple light. Already, his eyes were closing in defeat.

My strength doubled.

«Let go of him now! » I yelled at the top of my lungs, grabbing both the predator and my starter's attention.

The tentacool, startled, started to move away, drying to drag its next meal with it.

Burning with fury, I grabbed one of its tentacles and pulled with all my might. The jellyfish creature glared my way and I returned it with all the ferocity that was going through me.

«I SAID LET GO! »

I pulled even harder and the distance between us was all but gone now. One hand turned into a fist and I rammed it into the tentacool's head as hard as I could.

The tentacool finally let go, deciding that its prey was more trouble than what it was worth.

My hand was burning now, but I couldn't care less. Instead, I reached forward and grabbed Levys' tail. My starter finally reacted and gave a weak impulse for me to let go. I didn't.

Something else latched on my arm tentatively, as if probing the area for something.

I was probably what it was looking for, because it froze for a second, and then quickly wrapped itself around me. I instantly recognized the sensation. It was another tentacle.

For further proof, Levys was getting more agitated.

Another tentacle bound my legs, followed by my torso and my waist.

My mind promptly gave me an answer to this situation. I was being attacked by a tentacruel.

Before the horror could really hit me, I was pulled so strongly that my lungs were emptied of what little air they still contained.

I was just so incredibly lucky to have been pulled upward.

Coughing, spitting, blinking and wishing I was free to rub my eyes, I emerged from the river, Levys in my arms. Everything was a messy watery blur.

I could not hear Martin when he called for my name, nor when he started scolding me like a madman. Was he hysterical?

After a few seconds, I realized I was being pulled by something big standing behind Martin, something… creepy and full of tentacles.

Then it threw me onto the dry ground, luckily on the back so I didn't crush him under my weight on top of it all! I did let out a pained groaned of annoyance though.

«Woo? » Dora tilted her head as she looked at me curiously.

Panting, I did not find the force to speak. In fact, I was starting to find it harder to breath.

«Champ, champ stay with me. » Martin kneeled just next to me, his face hanging over mine. He looked surprisingly calm now. «What happened? What did you do? »

«I… » The images of what I had just done kept flashing before my eyes…

«Champ, I need to know. Tell me what happened. » He insisted, his tone becoming more pressuring.

«Tent… tentacool… » I whispered.

That seemed enough for him and he started rummaging through his backpack. My hand was really hurting me now.

«I punched it. » I tried to chase away a powerful desire to sleep. I had the faintest impression it would be bad.

Not to mention I would have missed Martin almost tripping over his own foot when I delivered that line.

«You WHAT? » He turned to me with the widest eyes I had ever seen on him. Heck, it was even worse than the time I had told him about the Dream Eater monk…

«…Pu…punched… » I tried to say.

«Drink that. » He grabbed my chin and placed a bottle of… something against my lips. Not waiting for consent or anything, he practically forced it down my throat.

«Good. » He nodded and delicately put my head down on the (very) hard ground.

The rest was lost to me. I fainted in the next five seconds.

* * *

It was sort of a blur. I vaguely remembered some moments of rare lucidity.

For example, I thought I had woken up at some point while Martin was carrying me on his back. The reason I was not sure is that I distinctively remembered him calling me a damsel in distress and immediately fainting (because the poison was still in my veins) to escape a boring conversation with an obviously mentally challenged man.

There was also that time I saw a gigantic rock type (presumably an onyx) run away from a stream of water produced by Dora.

Or the one about a hiker that called to us to challenge him obnoxiously (hello, semi-unconscious dashingly good-looking trainer in peril here?) only to back away when Martin gave him a very stern glare. The man's blabbered a «OhdearArceus,sorrymisterSlyder!» and ran away without a second thought.

Or even that one time a very strong source of light burned my eyes and forced me to close them weakly indicated that we had gone through the Union Cave in its entirety.

None of that really mattered that much though, since I woke up next to a pink pokémon wearing a nurse's cap.

Oh, and a Nurse Joy I would swear was Harmonia, except that she was wearing a rather stern thin lipped smile instead of the mocking teasing one she usually harbored.

«How are you feeling? » She asked with a voice so warm that I swore I dreamed that part about her looking severe.

«…Better. » I admitted, after acknowledging that the burning sensation in my hand was gone.

«It was not a smart thing to do. » She scolded me, her tone dropping a few degrees. It was still comfortable though. I doubted a Nurse Joy could even sound cold.

«Huh… » I found myself wishing to be somewhere else. With a little insight, punching a poison type pokémon barehanded did look incredibly stupid. Then again, Levys' life had been at stake and that much made it worth it.

«Please don't do it again. »

«I'm afraid I can't promise you that. »

I froze and swore to myself. I had not meant to say that out loud.

This time, the nurse clearly was bothered.

«I beg you pardon? »

«L-Look… Levys' life was hanging in the balance here. I could not let my starter die on me. » I locked my gaze with hers on purpose, determined to show that this was the one issue on which I would not back away.

«… and to think I used to deal with kids like you daily… » She sighed in defeat. She talked with the expertise that came from a lifetime of experience.

«Don't be like that, Angela. Kids like him are good for you. They make your life thrilling. » Martin's voice echoed and he erupted in the room with the subtlety of a donfan crashing into a rock.

The nurse, Angela apparently, cringed when she heard him and my feelings toward her became much warmer. Any person annoyed by Martin was sane, that was my standard.

«Please do not use my first name like that, Mr. Slyder. »

«But it's so much more personal than just Nurse Joy. We've outgrown this stage, Angela.» He protested, though he did not departed with his smile, suggesting he was quite amused by the poor woman's reaction.

«Yes, I know. After all, you must have spent more time in this center than many others due to your undeniable ability to lose to Bugsy seven times in a row. » She deadpanned, unaware that I was shaking with laugher.

«You had to put it this way, didn't you? » He replied, his smile losing a bit of its usual glitter. «Why not because I could not live without the warmth of your presence or the kindness your soul dispensed onto others? » He took the pose of a poet, one hand on his heart and the other toward the ceiling.

«Because I tell the truth. » She deadpanned again and left Martin pouting, soon followed by her chansey.

Said guy decided to sit down on my hospital bed and put me through an inescapable ursaring hug.

«She is so mean to me. » He faked crying in my arms, deliberately «missing» the many signals I sent his way that meant «let go of me, you hugging idiot! ». Before I could put my newly recovered strength to good use, he opened his arms and I fell backward.

«And I feel better now. Thank you, cub. It's nice to have someone that listens to you and take seriously once in a blue moon. » Riiiiiiiiiiight. And now I didn't feel guilty.

His features were then illuminated by a sly grin and I realized I had just been had. To top it off, I could not even complain as it would be a confession that I _had_ felt guilty over his comment.

«Well, now that someone else acted in a mature way and told you how stupid you were for risking your life like that without even asking me if I had a way to save Levys, I can focus on the parts I'd rather say. » He observed my mixture of shame and exasperation with a small smile. «Just don't tell Angela. »

«I'm not making any promises. » I crossed my arms and allowed myself to be a bit smug.

«You're just a horrible little teddybear. Did you know that? »

«Yeah, now what was it you wanted to tell me? »

«You jumped after your pokémon without the slightest hint of an hesitation and you punched… » He snorted at that. «… you PUNCHED a tentacool. As the guy buying your shoes and your presence with cheap fast-food, I cannot honestly say that I am not a little bit proud. »

I felt warm inside and it was not the poison this time. Unable to find the right word, I mumbled something unintelligible.

«So, are you feeling alright? After all, you were unconscious for pretty much a day, you know? » He stood up and started walking around the room.

«A…a whole day? »

«More or less that, yes. » He nodded, playing with the pidgeyclock on the wall. «You were poisoned and so was Levys. And before you ask, yes, he is perfectly healthy. In fact, he's restless if I were to believe Angela. »

«Levys… » I whispered and stood up, completely disregarding common sense and possibly the recommended course of action in case of a severe poisoning.

«Wowowoooow, champ. » He gently pushed me back in bed. «You're not leaving your room like that. He's fine, we told him you were fine, so everyone gets to rest, okay? »

Then, just to kill any impact his words might have had, he yawned and his eyes started dropping.

«Sounds like I'm not the one that truly needs rest. » I remarked, smirking.

«You're right. Dora does. » He pointed out with the tone of someone that knows something you don't.

«Dora? » I could not help but tilt my head at that. Really? Dora?

«Your little princess refused to be returned as long as you were on my back and she is the one that fended off the zubats we met on the road. All by herself. »

My jaw dropped.

«What? »

«Apparently, your little stunt raised her opinion of you, if only just a little. » I REALLy did not know how to react to this one. «… Unless she was just sick of that cave and decided to get out by herself. »

I threw my pillow at his face with a deadly precision.

* * *

After Nurse Joy's chansey returned to examine me, I was allowed to leave. How exactly Martin had understood that, I did not know. Nevertheless, I was happy not to stay any longer. It would be sad if more of my pokémon journey was spent in hospitals and pokémon center than on the roads.

When I finally got to see Levys, he looked lively, if only a bit tired. According to Nurse Joy, it was perfectly normal. That much I would deal with easily.

On the other hand, I had not taken Dora out yet. I apprehended the moment I would actually. If Martin was to be believed (and that was a BIG «if»), then she may have warmed up to me a bit. However, I did not really have the energy to deal with another kind of emotional conflict for now.

Of course, that was precisely the time that the Universe and Karma in general decided to give me a double-edged gift.

Just as we were leaving the lobby, the doors opened and revealed a girl my age with flowing blond hair and a semi-bored pout (not kidding, that's how she looked like). There was no doubt possible and if there was any need for a confirmation, the flash of recognition that went through her eyes was more than enough to convince me.

Yup, I had just been reunited with Anna.


	10. Promises are meant to be kept

**Promises are meant to be kept**

«A-Anna…? » I stared at her, not quite certain of how it was possible for her to be here, now of all times.

«In the flesh. » She smiled (which, by her standard, is a vaguely satisfied expression) and took a step toward me. «It's been a while, Captain Ocean. »

Martin's eyes widened as I winced in annoyance. Leave it to Anna to remind me of old shames right in front of the wrong person.

«What's wrong? You chose that nickname for yourself, remember? » She pointed out, eying Martin with a deep lack of emotional investment.

Great… exactly what I needed to be sure to never hear the end of it.

«Yes, but we were six when we decided to name ourselves like the heroes in that show! » I protested vehemently. If I was lucky, he'd latch out on something else and it would not follow me through my whole training career.

«Fair enough. » She shrugged it off, as if she hadn't just nearly destroyed my reputation. «So… who's that? » She frowned and pointed to Martin, the latter of which was actually coughing very loudly to hide his fit of laugher.

How touching…

«That's just Martin… » I groaned in exasperation and she had the slightest interrogation in her eyes.

«Yup, that's me, Martin Slyder! Delivery man and traveling companion of this cute future champion. » He lifted me and rubbed my head with his knuckles again!

«Have I met you before…? » She got closer to him (and me at the same time), tilting her head a little.

«Maybe. I travel a lot and this teddy over here told me you did your share of travel as well. We could have walked pass one another at some point during your journey. » For some reason, this sounded a little less like him. The smile was there and all, but there was just something about his tone that grated my nerves in an unusual way.

Anna did not look convinced either. Though she did not call him out on it. She never did unless she knew exactly what was at stake. Instead, she would investigate and find out what the problem was on her own. Then… I'd rather not think about it.

«Hum… why are you here? Don't you already have five badges? Why would you come back here? » I asked, getting back Martin's attention so he could let me go.

«Six. » Anna replied.

«What? » I looked up, rubbing the top of my head carefully.

«I have six badges. » She explained and took out a small metallic case. Immediately afterward, it was opened and I got to see her collection of badges.

My stomach sank lower than my knees and my heart was quick to follow. I had no badges of my own and she had six!

«I finally got my revenge against Bugsy. » Her expression darkened, as if she was remembering a very unpleasant event.

«Ah, you have all my compassion, young Anna. » Martin sighed in a melodramatic way and grabbed her hand to try to convey that compassion.

«So I'm not the only one then? » She raised an eyebrow at his antics, but accepted the warm handshake he offered.

«Oh no, you aren't. » I maliciously added, then coughed up a little.

I'm fairly sure Martin caught the «seven times in a row» I threw in there.

«Alright, champ, you had something important to talk about together, didn't you? » Martin shot back as fast as lightning and my mockery turned into uneasiness and anger. Did he need to have a reply every time I succeeded in mocking him?

«That sounds suspiciously like some romantic declaration. » Anna commented and shot me a look I dared not interpret.

«Well, it could be… » Martin snickered, acting like every other adult (even though he was about as mature as a five year old!) around a boy and a girl that had to talk alone. «And I'll leave you two alone so you can discuss everything that you might need to discuss. » Just to condemn me to more awkwardness, he winked at Anna.

I hated, no, loathed Martin as he happily left the center under the pretense of needing a nap under the pure beautiful afternoon sun.

Anna frowned as she watched him leave while humming some summer camp songs. I wanted to agree with her on that, but they could turn out to be surprisingly addictive (of course, the alternative was talking with Martin…) when wild pokémon weren't around to train Levys.

After that, she turned the full force of her gaze to me and I shifted on my feet, uncomfortable.

DARN IT, MARTIN!

«…So… » My mouth felt dry and I was shaking, nervous, even if I wasn't going to confess! What would I do if it turned out she wanted me to confess to her?

It was at that point that I realized what I had been thinking and started laughing.

Arceus! Anna? In love with ME? That was just so absurd I could… well, laugh.

«I really missed something important just now, didn't I? » She sighed, letting me recover my serious.

Well, now that this was done, I really was much more at ease.

«Come on; let's go grab some ice cream, my treat. » I declared, smiling widely.

* * *

«Thank you. » She accepted her ice cream cone with a dignified smile.

«You're welcome. » I replied, handing out a few bills to the vendor.

We sat down at the terrace she had chosen. After all, as she claimed, it was not her first time walking down the city. She had liked this place the first time, so there was no reason to dislike it the second.

I would not argue with her logic… or with her at all.

«Alright, I will pretend that you just did that out of happiness of seeing me for the first time in a year and not press you down for questions yet, deal? » I looked away, desperately trying to find some way to prove her wrong. Sadly, no answer came to my mind.

She licked her ice cream cones a few times before initiating the conversation again.

«Very well. How about you tell me about your journey a little? You heard about ours, but we don't know about yours. »

«Fair enough…» I admitted, trying to think of where to start.

«I mean, other than what the news told us about you. Even with scarves, I would recognize you anywhere. » She smiled a bit more widely (meaning that the normal individual could actually tell she was happy instead of bored now).

I was honestly taken aback. I had forgotten about that short time outside of the police station where I had worn a scarf and a pair of sunglasses to escape the media. To be fair, that was about two weeks ago.

«Hum… yeah… there's that. I guess… » I scratched my head sheepishly. It was not like I had meant to be misunderstood by my mom and alerted the police in some sort of obscure and ridiculously hard to pull of scheme to pass on the evening news for five seconds.

It did sound like some awesome plan in retrospect though.

«Oh dear, this will take hours if you keep stopping to think like that after every sentence. » She shot me a look of annoyance and I blushed. Crap, I had to stop making monologues in my head!

Easier said than done…

Arceus I was stupid!

«Yeah, sorry about that. Hum… you know those governmental regulations that keep being applied to training? »

What happened next stunned me. Anna grimaced.

«Don't remind me… » She even sounded angry.

Angry! Anna did not get angry at anything other than people who broke their promises! Or at least, she had enough self-control not to let it appear in anything but very hard to detect underlying tones.

I stayed utterly silent. How else could I react to that?

«Go on. » She encouraged me, her tone neutral again.

«Huh… what was I saying again? »

Did I hallucinate or a passerby had just tried to hide his desire to laugh?

This was beyond bad…

«Get to the point. » She made a cycling gesture with her hands, not caring much about the ice cream dripping on the table.

«Alright… When I got to New Bark Town two weeks ago… they had passed some sort of crappy rules and Elm could not give me a totodile. »

Had she had a drink, she would have put it on the table softly, without a word, and stared at me very intensively. I could picture that very easily in my mind and it would be exactly how she would react.

Anna slowly lowered her ice cream cone, all trace of annoyance and mischief gone from her face. It was purely neutral.

«The news stated that a new trainer had just been kidnapped… » Her voice was just as neutral, just as emotionless.

«I… I captured another pokémon instead. » I added, trying to clear any misunderstanding there could have been.

Obviously, it was not working.

«How? You started your training journey in New Bark Town, you were alone and you had no pokéballs. » This time, I recognized some form of accusation hidden behind her calm exterior.

«M-Martin helped me. H-He had a fishing rod, so we got to a small lake and we fished out my starter. »

«That stupid-looking delivery man? » She asked, seemingly surprised.

«HEY! » A voice came from around a corner and we both identified its owner immediately. «I'm eavesdropping, you know? »

Oh sweet love of Mew… Martin had followed us, spied on us and was now complaining about her insulting him behind his back? …There were no words… no words for that.

«Eh, he's pretty funny. » Anna smugly smiled, beaming with satisfaction.

SWEET LOVE OF MEW!

The Universe had officially gone mad and, as always, it was Martin's fault.

«Tell me I'm dreaming. » That was my saving throw. I knew Martin could screw up my dreams already; he had been the one to kill me in that Dream Eater induced nightmare after all.

«Are you sure you have any right to complain? » Anna swiftly brought me back to my senses. Almost.

«Alright then, will you travel with him for the rest of your pokémon training journey? »

She was effectively silenced.

One second, she opened her mouth to talk; the next, she closed it, shivering.

«I will give you that. » She conceded the point, ignoring Martin's whining in the background.

It sounded like: «Skull, champ's girlfriend is so mean to me! Give me a hug, my boy. »

Had it not been for the «girlfriend» part, I would have been really smug. Instead, I was just blushing and deliberately trying to prevent eye contact with her.

«Anyway, back to business. » She snapped a finger to regain my attention. «What did you get instead? »

«A magikarp. »

A look of pure shock, that's was what her barely wider eyes and her open mouth meant. No matter what, she never expressed too much.

«A-Are you serious? »

Wow, she really must not have expected that one.

«I am. » I nodded and started building Levys' aquarium in front of her.

A proof could not hurt, now could it?

She stared in silence, not quite recovering from the surprise.

«Levys, come meet my friend Anna. » I called, opening his pokéball into the aquarium.

«Karp! » Levys enthusiastically responded, splashing us both.

«It really is a magikarp… » She whispered.

I was getting use to this sort of treatment, but I expected a little more from one my best friends. To be quite honest, it was really getting on my nerves. If Anna reacted like that, what would Allan do? Laugh himself into a coma? How would I explain that to the police?

«Yes, yes he is. Levys is a magikarp, a strong one too. Is there a problem with that? » I asked, ticked off.

This got her to look up to me again.

«No offense, but you are a power freak. »

Yeah… no offense… at all… It's all flowers and rainbows with a side order of lollipops and sparkles…

«You're the kind of person that wants to be the most powerful. You feel good crushing your opponents in battle. »

«I do not! » I protested, albeit a little too quickly. Stupid reflexes…

«Be honest here, Captain Ocean. You started to like water types after Allan said he wanted a fire type. »

«Err… That was not… » Crap, I had forgotten about that one.

«I also suspected it was because you thought that even if I had the advantage in term of types, you still believed you could take me on in a straight fight. » She continued, although she was speaking more quietly now.

A knot tied up my throat.

Yeah, I had thought that. Anna… well, she had never been that interested in pokémon training in the first place so I thought that… if I had to choose one person to have an advantage over… it would be Allan.

«But that all became meaningless anyway when you failed to get your trainer's license on time and we had to leave without you. » She smiled at me, but there was no joy in it.

«Anna, I'm sorry. » And I was. It was a promise I had broken.

«Karp? » Levys called for me in concern.

«Don't worry about it. » I passed on hand on his back, trying to look a bit less uneasy.

«Oh, that's it. Magikarps evolve into gyarados, don't they? » A light of comprehension lightened up her eyes and she leaned closer.

I refused to answer, even if Levys' confusion cracked my armor.

«Well, now I get it. Don't you think that choosing a magikarp as your only pokémon for that reason might be too much though? If you can't level it up, it will never evolve. »

«…About that… » I bit my lips, nervous about the possible death I would soon face. «Levys isn't… »

Her stare intensified and it was as if the temperature was suddenly rising.

«He's not my only pokémon. » I admitted with a tiny voice.

Slowly, she blinked. Slowly, her mouth formed an unsightly frown. Slowly, her anger increased.

«Zoë. »

One word, just one. That's all she said and I saw the typical flash of light of a pokémon being released.

Oh crap…

«Meeeeeganium. »

Her chikorita had evolved twice, thought I only remembered it being a bayleef the last time we talked. It was kind of big now.

Not to mention that I had never imagined I could get intimidated by a pokémon with a pink flower as a collar.

As it turned out, I was not wrong to be afraid.

A Vine Whip immobilized my left hand and I really started to panic.

«Anna! I… »

It was around my torso this time. The worst part about this was that I could feel myself lighter than usual. It had not quite lifted me yet, but that meganium was showing me it could.

«How could you? Not once, not even twice, but three times? You broke our promise together three times! » Her voice was but a shriek at this point.

What should I do? What should I say? That I had not meant it to happen? What did that change? That I was sorry? I was not. Levys and Dora were great (even if I had still lot of things to work on with her).

The local sellers were eying us with caution, wondering if they should call the police at this point.

«Okaaaaaaaay, I think someone ought to calm down a little now. »

I blinked and so did Anna. It was not hard to forget that Martin had been eavesdropping on us.

He walked toward us, moodily. There was something incredibly enervating with the image of Martin getting into the picture so calmly. Anna did not seem to appreciate either.

«You would not want to scare your boyfriend away, now, would you? » He then did the unspeakable: he ruffled her hair.

«HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND! HE'S JUST A FILTHY LIAR! » She lashed out at him.

Ouch. That certainly hurt my fragile ego.

«Chhhhh, you're disturbing everyone now. » He shushed her, shushed! I already started praying for his soul.

Even if he did not really deserve my prayers.

Anna, equally from being treated like a petulant child than from realizing the commotion she was causing, blushed darkly.

«This has nothing to do with you! »

«But I can't take a nap if you scream so loudly. »

«You were eavesdropping! »

«Such an ugly word. I prefer «listening to others' conversation without permission or decency». »

I rolled my eyes at that. Yeah, much better.

«Will you calm down now? » He asked again, this time sounding a bit condescending.

«Zoë! » She pointed at him in fury and her meganium captured him too.

«That's not a really smart move, Anna. » He sounded perfectly calm, to the point of scaring me.

«Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarp! » Levys leaped out of his aquarium and decided that friend of mine or not, she really ought to be nicer.

He did it in the form of a good slap to the face.

There was a moment of silence during which no one exactly dare to speak.

Anna was the first to regain her mind.

«Let them go, Zoë. » She turned to her pokémon, having cooled down enough to report the murder to later.

I felt a wave of relief hit me when the vines' grip loosened and dropped me. I had not been aware that I had been this scared. A piece of me had been too fascinated with Martin's stupid attempt at peacekeeping.

However, that relief disappeared instantly when I felt a terrifying pressure from the corner Martin had left. I could not see anything, but I knew without a doubt that this was the kind of pressure felt by a prey sensing a predator nearby.

«Skull, my boy, come here! » Martin called, clapping his hands against his legs.

As suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared. In its stead, there was that stupidly huge houndoom running toward his master while happily barking.

As always, Skull's size was enough to create a reaction out of people, even Anna, who paled when he reached Martin.

However, she looked very wary of the giant dog. It was almost as if she was expecting it to turn around and bite her in the face. Granted that was a very scary image, but knowing Skull, it was not likely.

«That's my boy. » Martin joyfully petted his houndoom, completely ignoring us both.

We stared at him, if only to escape the embarrassment of being the first to break the ice again. I could tell she was not especially proud of her outburst and I did not fancy apologizing again on behalf of Levys' behavior.

«I overreacted. Sorry. » Anna had decided to be brave and face me in spite of her small blush. However, it was rescinding by the seconds, slowly turning back into her very neutral peach skin.

«It's… nothing. » I looked away, trying not to dance around the question. «You're always like that anyway. »

Tact, how I miss you!

«Humph. » She pouted (again, hard to tell for the untrained eyes). «I just think that people who lie and break their promises are the worst. »

Awkwardness, I could have done fine without you for five minutes, you know?

«Listen… it's really complicated. W-Would you like to sit down while I talk? » I motioned to her toppled chair and she shrugged.

«I might as well. »

«I did not intend to catch Dora. It was an accident. » I nervously tapped on the table, eying Martin for support, while he, of course, was all to his houndoom.

«An accident? » Wow, that was a lot of skepticism condensed in two words.

«Yes, an accident. »

«It was an accident that you got your hands on a pokéball and that you weakened a pokémon enough to use it and that you threw a pokéball at that same weakened pokémon. Is that what you're saying? » She pointed out with an acidic tone.

«Yes, and it was hilarious to top it off. » Martin gleefully provided, making us both jump.

I could have sworn he was not listening! Then again, he had declared himself that he had been eavesdropping while he was doing it.

«It's my mom. She bought me this, thinking I could just exchange Levys' current pokéball for this one. » I showed her Dora's pokéball, completely serious.

«Oh. » She understood with just that, I think.

«Yeah, well, I decided to keep it as a memento, but... » I opened it, letting Dora out.

My wooper instantly recognized a stranger and, smart, she acted quite innocently.

«Woo? » She asked, absolutely adorable.

It was too bad Anna was not one to like cuteness. All she could see was a water type with a strangely stupid smile.

«First a magikarp, then a wooper… Are you seriously trying to become the champion? » She smirked.

«Yes. I am. Power freak, remember? » I glared, bitter.

«Sorry. » She grimaced.

It got worse when Dora, knowing she had been mocked, decided to jump in her face and spit mud. I wanted to cringe, but it was hard when I was feeling very proud of my pokémon. All for the wrong reasons, but still.

«Charming. » She frowned, pushing Dora away in annoyance.

Stoically (or I hope I was…), I handed her a napkin with which she wiped her face.

«Anyway, what happened is that… Dora attacked me and I tripped and I almost fell in the river, but Martin caught me before that and my mom's netball fell into the river and when Levys had got it, Dora had been captured by it. » I rapidly depicted the scene, my sole desire being to be done with that as soon as possible.

«What? » Anna predictably raised one eyebrow with skepticism.

«That's a bit too summarized, champ. » Martin critiqued, though his smile demented any seriousness whatsoever. «You forgot to mention the multiple times you were hit in the face and how your voice went up a few octaves and all that stuff. »

Urge to sick Dora and Levys on Martin: rising!

«…Why didn't you tell me earlier? » She asked, her voice was but a whisper at this point.

«I… I didn't know what to do… » I admitted, lowering my gaze to the ground.

«Hey, sir, I'd like to order twelve bowls of ice cream, one chocolate, three solar mixes, one vanilla, two oran berries flavored, two dirty earths mixes and three butterscotches flavored. »

Martin stood up and walked up to the counter while we blinked at him in astonishment. Who ate that much ice cream?

«Right away, sir. » The seller turned around and started taking care of the order, leaving Martin to glance at us with a little smile.

«I know you two just ate some ice cream, but I've just ordered some more for you too. I hope you won't get a sugar high. » He crossed his arms and leaned against the shop's outer wall, smug.

«Twelve bowls for three? Are you nuts? » I asked, taken aback.

«Oh, cub, you're so cute when you're like that, but, no, there's also some for Levys and Dora and Zoë and my team. »

«Oh, so you are a trainer? » Anna frowned ever so slightly.

«Was. I'm just a little gear in the system now. » Martin shrugged it off.

«Wait… so you have a full team of six pokémon… » I pointed out, after a little mental calculation.

«Of course I do. I was just a normal trainer with no aspirations other than have fun. I caught my team on the way, without restrictions like the one you put yourselves through. Not that there's anything wrong with that. »

Anna did not look particular pleased by the added comment. Considering it was her idea in the first place…

«What kind of team do you have then? » She did her best not to appear curious, but I could tell. Martin probably didn't though.

«A fun one. » He grinned and dug through his pockets to take out five pokéballs, many of them being colored in patterns. Apparently, he had only caught Linda and Skull with normal pokéballs. «Guys, time for some ice cream. » He smiled as he dropped them and five flashes of light followed.

I shielded my eyes on the spot. The simultaneous releases were enough to hurt.

When it cleared up, we were surrounded by rather large pokémon, half of them being Skull's size or bigger, the last three, half of my size.

«Okay, champ, champ's girlfriend, this is my team. Meet Mr. DoomMcSkull, also known as Skull, Linda, Big Ma, Ma for short – she's the one that saved you in the Union Cave champ –, Danny Leo, usually shortened to Danny, Tropical Three, best known as Three, and, of course, Orion. Team, that's my newly adopted little brother and his girlfriend, so be malicious. »

Oh boy, a houndoom, a ledian, a tangrowth, a jumpluff, an exeggutor and a starmie. It seemed… strange… that kind of team.

Anyway, they were obedient, or so it seems, because as soon as the presentations were over, Tropical Three, the exeggutor, glowed blue and Martin was launched in the air, into the nearest fountain. All the while screaming «Oh Arceus, I should have knooooooown!».

Favorites pokémon: magikarps and woopers. Second favorites: exeggutors.

The ice cream bowls then floated in the air and found their places in front of a human or a pokémon, without fail. Martin's team ate with a good appetite, considering their trainer was walking back over here, dripping wet but laughing.

«Three, you're just too much for me. Ma, can't you do something, pretty please with sitrus berries on top? » He pleaded, attempting to pull off growlithes eyes, with no success.

Amateur.

«Tan, tangrowth taaan tan. » The mass of vines smacked the exeggutor behind each of its three heads and it stopped at that.

«Thank you, Ma. You're just such a nice and firm mother. » Martin sat down at our table, looking genuinely pleased.

I tilted my head at that. Had he also been a breeder on top of a trainer?

«She's just one big ball of maternal affection… and motherly authority. » He grinned. «She's the serious mother of the team while I'm the bumbling daddy. We're one big happy family. Oh and that includes you. » He pulled me into another headlock, under the amusement of Anna and Zoë.

My pokémon didn't have much reserve against free food, so I didn't quite have the heart to distract them from a good meal, even if Dora was sometimes teasing Levys (from afar, having learned her lesson the first time).

Anna's meganium, on the other hand, looked particularly affected by the appearance of Martin's team. Sensible to that distress, Anna gently held her closer to her body and spoke to Martin.

«You have three grass types… are you a specialized trainer? »

«I was not. » Martin rolled his eyes, putting some emphasis on the past tense in his answer. «My pokémon were not really caught with a particular purpose in mind. I caught them because I liked them and they liked me. The only strategy I have was made after I got my full team. »

«Which is…? » I tried to get free, while hiding some interest in the matter.

What? It's not like I could copy it with just Levys and Dora anyway! I only wanted to… steal Martin's knowledge. Besides, if I asked, he probably would jump around and declare that he would teach me everything. No problem, right?

«Not telling you that. » He laughed and my jaw dropped.

«What? Why? »

«Because it's not good enough for you to become Champion and you could not use it anyway. » He smirked and he let me get away.

«What? Why? » Was it irrational that I got angry for that? I was going to become the best trainer in Johto; I had to be able to use every tactics there were, no?

«Because I obviously built it with my team in mind. » He snickered, grabbing his jumpluff, and the little cotton ball joined in on the hilarity.

«That's… » I grimaced.

That was a good reason. Fine, be that way Martin, be tyrannical!

«… How long have you two traveled together? » Anna wondered out loud, less as a question than a simple astonished declaration.

«We met on the way to New Bark Town. » I grunted, deciding that ignoring everyone was my best way to make things go faster and be granted a way out of the awkwardness.

Levys and Dora had both finished their bowls and were arguing about something, the content of which was lost on me…

Hey, I was trying to understand my pokémon well, but that was a bit much…

What really pained me though were the silent dialogues Anna was holding with Zoë. It made me feel like a really crappy trainer. Then again, the alternative was Martin and his team. They looked… really fun.

The last time I had felt jealousy this strong was when that girl next door had gone on her pokémon journey when I was six.

«Karp? » Levys had also gone for the «ignore things that you despise» strategy, namely Dora, and had instead turned his attention to me.

«Oh, I'm fine… » I muttered, somewhat better.

«Kaaarp? » This time, he was clearly skeptical about my well-being and the gesture touched me enough to chase away all trace of a foul mood.

«Of course I'm sure. I have you! » I smiled and reached for him.

«Woo! » Dora jumped in the way and intercepted my movement before I could touch Levys.

«And you too, Dora. » I grinned, amused by her antics.

Now, it was hard for me to tell if Levys was displeased with that. After all, he was still as happy-looking, but I did know he could bluff a little.

«You've got yourself a nice team. » Anna remarked, having seen the little scene unfold. All traces of previous emotions were gone and she was resting her chin against her open palms.

It got me to think. What would I have done if Anna had demanded that I release Dora? Could I have followed that order on behalf of that promise I made a year ago?

The answer was of an unprecedented clarity.

«Anna. » I called, suddenly serious. «Levys and Dora… I really like them both. Even if you changed your mind now, I would not release either of them. They're part of my team now. Nothing will make me change my stance on that. »

Surprisingly, she did not appear angry at all. Instead, she was focused on Zoë, which was having a blast with Danny.

«In that case, I will not be able to forgive you. »

Wow, it was rare to see Martin's smile slip that easily, but it really did. Even when he had been thrown into a fountain, he had still some of his goofy air to himself.

I grinned and winked at him, not caring if Anna saw me.

«Unless, of course, you do something else for me. » She added, calculative.

That was always how she had worked. Make a promise with her and you have two choices: either you keep your words or you don't. If you break a promise with her, face her anger and be prepared to never be forgiven, unless you prove your honesty by offering her compensation.

«Alright, what will it be this time? » I was confident I could take on whatever challenge she would throw at me. I had passed her test of courage to swim into the Lake of Anger. Thank Arceus it had not been the season for gyarados.

«I want to see your next gym battle. »

Oh, I did not see that coming.


	11. Big creepy crawling things, how lovely

**Big creepy crawling things... lovely.  
**

Well, sometimes, I had been accused of wasting money. True enough, I did blow off my allowances on items I would later lose interest in, but there was still a limit to these things.

Was I the _only_ person that visited this gym that was simply shocked that they had recreated a forest _inside_ it? Sure, bug types thrived for these, but it was not like Azalea Town was a in a coastal area or something; _it was in the middle of the woods! Why didn't they just get out of town and battle there instead of wasting money on maintaining an artificial forest in the middle of a natural one!_

«Though luck, champ, » Martin commented as the opponent's kakuna dodged Levys' attack.

«It was a nice try. » Anna shrugged, seemingly not interested by the battle.

To think she had insisted to come…

Of course, that had led Martin to insist that he would come with us as well. The end result was that I was now plowing through the gym trainers (no, not exactly) with an overcrowded audience. Neither of the two had returned their pokémon and it was really enervating to have them follow me around.

Fortunately, it also had an effect on my opponents. Seeing such an army cheering up on me (not that they really did that…) took its toll on their enthusiasm. At some points, the younger gym trainers – which really were just my age or younger – screwed up because of the stress.

Every time it happened, I tried to restrain myself from taking advantage of it. That was just unfair. It got me a look from Anna and another one from Levys, though the latter's was much more of the confused variety than the former's.

Then again, I said I _tried_…

«Tail Slap! » I yelled, doing my best to ignore my audience's reactions.

«Dodge it! » The gym trainer ordered, getting quite angry himself.

Once more, Levys' tail only hit the ground, the cocoon creature moving out of the way just in time. How did it manage to move like that? _It was in a cocoon_!

«Now Poison Sting! »

«Oh no, you don't! Levys, Splash! »

One good hit against the ground and he was soaring through the sky (which included everything over my head in my point of view).

I superbly ignored both my opponent's and Anna's surprise at Levys' performance. To add insult to the injury, he landed exactly in the middle of his tank and looked in an insolently good health.

«No! » The gym trainer screamed. «No, no, no! I will _not_ be defeated by a guy with a _magikarp_ that uses inexistent attacks and _Splash_! And what kind of attack is Tail Slap anyway, huh? It's nowhere in the pokédex, you cheater! »

Oh, he did not just call me that!

«Hey! Falkner himself said it was a valid way to fight! Is it my fault that everyone brags about being able to use _Tackle_? Is that really a feat worthy of celebration? »

«Ah, you just say that because your magikarp is not strong enough to use it! » The idiot taunted me!

«THAT'S IT! Levys, tackle that fool's kakuna into oblivion! » I pointed to the cocoon pokémon, completely enraged.

Levys jumped and span, dodging an array of Poison Sting.

I recognized the way he was diving instantly. It gave me the very definite feeling that he was going to crush his enemy with his next attack. Although this time, there was something completely off about the way he moved.

I did not see any of his muscles contract as he prepared to turn around and slap the kakuna. Instead, he was resolutely charging headfirst into the battle.

My jaw dropped and so did a few others.

The kakuna was stuck between a magikarp and a hard place and fainted.

And that was so far from the epicness that I had always pictured him to be that I _should not _be unable to speak. Then again, so was the gym trainer.

«Karp! » Levys smiled and hopped back into his tank.

«YES! » I ran to him and high fived him as hard as I could (…and I was still the one pushed back). I then eyed the gym trainer smugly. «You wanted a Tackle, you got it. Happy? »

Without a word, gritting his teeth and grumbling under his breath about the death of all smug newbies, the trainer left after handing me some money.

I counted the bills with a grin. I was finally starting to get my momentum.

«Good job, champ! » Martin swoop me off my feet and hugged the life out of me. «Levys finally learned how to use Tackle. »

«Yeah, that was impressive enough to blind me. » Anna added, no hint of emotion whatsoever in her voice, though I knew better. She was happy for me behind that sarcasm.

«Indeed. The last time it happened to me was when Linda used Flash before I closed my eyes. It took me a good five minutes of wandering with my eyes closed to see anything. »

Somehow, picturing Martin stumbling over rocks, trees and rivers with his eyes closed was really easy to imagine, not to mention it was good stress relief.

«But that's not today's lesson. What you learned today is that you can do anything if people taunt you into it. » He grinned and his exeggutor looked away in shame while every other pokémon Martin owned started laughing.

«Hey! Don't use my moments of triumph to tease your pokémon! » I protested and gained the instant loyalty of Three.

Perfect, now that this was done, I could coerce with him to overthrow Martin and… well, do something… maybe give him a psychic hug? I still had to put more thought into it, really.

«Ah, sorry, cub, I couldn't resist. You're right though, it's a good moment to celebrate. It means Levys will evolve soon. »

I fell silent. Arceus, I had not thought of that. It was true though… magikarps evolve not long after they learn how to use Tackle.

Somehow, the image of a terrifying gyarados replacing Levys did not make me feel at ease, quite the opposite actually. It gave me shivers and I promptly pushed that image to the back of my mind.

«Karp! » Levys happily joined in on the hug and fell on my head.

I grinned at that. He really was much cooler than I could have possibly imagined before.

Anna was calmly observing the scene from a safe distance, not wanting to be dragged into it or to miss a single detail of it.

«You two are just like brothers, you knew that? » She remarked, to my absolute horror and to Martin's endless bliss.

«You think? » He asked, smiling from one ear to another.

«You think? » I cried, cringing thoroughly. I could not look related to him, could I? He was making the world mad and was slowly taking away my peace of mind and sanity.

And boredom.

…huh? Where did that come from?

«You definitely should marry her later, champ. She's a good person. » Oh _Arceus_, smite him!

«Enough with the insinuations already. » She flickered at his forehead and he pouted.

Well, it was true she was a good person… but marriage could not rely exclusively on bashing Martin. It was a good start, really; it just needed something more.

I freed myself from his grip and grabbed Levys. Just after that, I returned him and kneeled next to the aquarium. I took a few deep breaths before I lifted it. It was heavier than it looked!

«…how many more gym trainers are there left? » I turned to Anna.

She had challenged him yesterday, she had to remember at least this much.

«He was the last, » she declared and, noticing my mortified look, shrugged. «Well, you have to challenge Bugsy now, don't you? »

Yeah, I had to… if I wanted to get his badge.

…If I wanted to risk the same fiasco as what happened in Violet Town. No matter what Falkner had to say about it, I had not deserved that badge. I was not quite sure I was ready to take another blow like that to my self-esteem.

But Anna had to leave tonight. She had paid another trainer to teleport here and give her three days to try to beat Bugsy. After that, he would teleport her back to Mahogany, where she would try to get the Obscurity Badge.

Since I had promised to let her see my battle against him, I had to do it in the next few hours. Somehow, I doubted I could delay it more than by five minutes. This gym was a forest, not a maze.

Martin had interjected that Three was perfectly able to teleport her back to Mahogany if time was the constraint, but she had made a promise (contracts counted too for her) and she was no hypocrite. She did not break her promises.

* * *

I followed her and Martin through the artificially created woods. The few pet pokémon living there did not give us any trouble, even if Linda had one taken off to see a pair of baby ledybans once or twice.

In a matter of minutes, we had reached a clearing where a purple-haired man ten years older than Martin was waiting, feeding some caterpies and weedles with a smile on his face.

Bugsy, the bug type specialist and gym leader of Azalea City.

«Oh, a trio of… wait, you're not challengers. » He frowned, recognizing Anna.

«Oh, we're just the guides and audience this time around, » Martin easily explained.

A light of understanding went through his gaze and he put on a little smile.

«Good, I was afraid I would have to tell you two that you could not challenge a gym leader you had already won against. »

I froze.

What?

The image of the Zephyr badge floated in my mind, just as I dropped it in the lake. It had not been the end of the world then, since I had decided to challenge him later on.

But Bugsy had just made a dozen different alerts ring in my head!

The fact that he had recognized Martin, who had stopped training years ago, just made it worse! Arceus! I had to go back now and… no… that was not right…

«Admittedly, I would not have to worry too much about losing another badge to you, Sunny Martin, but… » He stood up, smug.

I saw Anna flinch, as if the nickname rang a bell.

«Oh come on, Bugsy, that was years ago. I bet I could take you on with just Skull now. » Martin indignantly pointed out at his fire type.

To Martin's credit, the gym leader did eye Skull with caution afterward. That probably would not have happened if he knew how much of a puppy the gigantic dog was.

«Anyway, I assume that the boy is the challenger this time. A friend of yours, perhaps? »

«Yes, he is, to both these questions, » Anna confirmed his guess, but nothing else.

«Alright then, you'd be my third challenge of the day. This period of the year is always a bit slower, if only because the Slowpoke Well is closed for a few more days. »

Ah, I wasn't aware of that.

«The Rockets are probably not going to rise from their ashes after fifteen years, you know? » Martin said casually, shrugging.

«No, but what they did was actually profitable for them and it is this town's duty to ensure that the law was enforced and that these poor slowpokes don't go through that again. »

I shot Anna a look and I was relieved to see that she was apparently just as lost as I was. History… nah, not my cup of tea.

«You are probably right about that, but the new regulations should allow you to get a bit more control over that problem, no? »

«Not really. » Bugsy dismissed his supposition with a simple gesture and that was that.

Something pushed me in the back, not forcefully mind you, but enough to make me stumble forward.

«Oh, right, the challenger. » The gym leader turned to me, displaying a dull surprise.

«Huh… » Okay, I knew it would come down to this sooner or later, but this was not what I had in mind.

What I had in mind did not involve an audience watching me almost trip while I was trying to take place on the battlefield. Even better, what I had in mind did not involve an audience, period.

«Now, this is going to be good. » Martin grinned and led his team to the side of the clearing, where a bench was waiting, inviting.

«I certainly hope it will, » Anna replied and took place next to him.

I gulped down nervously and faced Bugsy.

«Alright, I take it this is your second gym battle? » He inquired, mostly as a formality than anything else it seems.

I nodded and waited for him to continue.

«In that case, do you need me to remind you of the rules of the gym battles? »

«Y-Yes please. » I agreed and tried not to stutter, without much success.

«Oh, as you wish… » He frowned, taken a bit by surprise.

The fish tank was already built and the water, inside, but… if I could delay it just a bit more…

«I will use three pokémon, you may use as many as you wish. The battles will be one-on-one, where you will be allowed to switch once per battle. I will not switch my pokémon during our fight. Returning a pokémon means that you must call out a different one next. The first person to have no pokémon to call out next is the loser and he will hand over a certain amount of money to the winner. If you do win, I will give you a badge and a technical machine as well. Do you understand? »

I nodded, my mouth dry from the anxiety.

I could not delay this any further. I could not back down either. They would never let me do this. Especially not Anna. This was a compensation for a broken promise.

Now, if only I could remember what Bugsy used with the added bonus of knowing it could not injure Levys seriously, I'd be set.

«Come on out, Metapod! »

Wow, that was more than what I asked for…

Time to wipe the floor with a gym leader then.

I called out Levys and grinned, confident in his capacity to defeat that big cocoon.

I did not, however, see the look of surprise on Bugsy's face coming.

Really? _Really! _ «A… magikarp? » He slowly commented, not realizing how irritating that was after the fiftieth time!

«No! No, nO, nooooo… no! » I could feel my left eye twitch as I tried not to simply explode out of annoyance. My instinct told me Anna would not be happy to have to clean out guts and blood today.

«What? » The gym leader wondered, clueless. «I just thought it was unusual to use a magikarp in a gym battle. »

Oh, how original. That's only the hundredth time I heard that _this week_!

«Well, you thought WRONG! » I lashed out, half of me horrified for saying _that_ to a _gym leader_. «Because Levys is not a magikarp! »

Arceus… what was I doing?

Clearly, the thought crossed the mind of every single other sentient being on the battlefield, Levys included… or should I say _especially Levys._

I had to admit the baffled look on him was new. That was only the second time I really saw it.

Well, it was not like I could back away and sink down into a hole just now, right? The best to do was to dig myself into a deeper hole. With some luck, it'd be too deep for anyone to ever find me again.

«No! Levys is _actually_ a ditto IN DISGUISE! It was all to lure you into a false sentiment of security! Now, BEHOLD as he takes his _true_ form! Levys, jump into the air and show us all who you really are! » I pointed to the sky, taking on the biggest villain cliché I could find as my persona and charming my audience with my acting talent.

It just fell a little bit short when Levys hopped in the air once and landed into his fish tank without the glamorous special effects I had imagined.

What? Was a giant robot transformation too much to ask?

«Well, I guess champ's hit his head hard when he _almost_ tripped. » Martin broke the silence when he confided, very loudly, to Anna.

To my greater embarrassment, she shrugged and continued to destroy my reputation.

«I don't think so. He was always like that whenever we played superheroes. » She calmly pointed out and proceeded to look even more nonchalant than before. «I bet he's even happy inside. »

If by happiness, she meant feeling like I was dying on the inside, then yeah, that would be _extremely _accurate. Tauros' eyes, right on, that kind of accuracy.

In front of us, Bugsy looked very uneasy with my outburst and was trying to figure out a way to ask me nicely if I needed to be checked at the nearest hospital.

«Are you okay? » He hesitated, a tentative smile on his lips.

«That's it. I need to call Dora. » I fumbled my hands into my pockets, trying to remember where I had left her pokéball.

«…what? »

It was really getting weird now. I was struggling to find Dora's pokéball and I could not remember where I had left it and I was starting to shake under the pressure of _everyone just staring at me! _I could just feel a burn where Orion, Martin's starmie, had to be staring at me. _And I was not even sure that pokémon had eyes!_

Okay, I had to get Dora out! She was part ground type; she would surely be able to dig me a hole so deep people would travel to Unova without trouble just by jumping in it.

Operation «hide forever»: starting now!

…Or a second later, when I was not being lifted without consideration like a bag of veggies, for example.

«Calm down, cub. » He sounded a lot less like the normal Martin and a lot more like a sane person. That was freaky enough to distract me. «You're way too nervous. Just relax. »

A few meters away, Anna was suddenly assaulted by a powerful yet brief fit of coughing which sounded amazingly closed to «Bros forever. ».

More aggravating yet, Bugsy chose that time out of all possible times of the Universe to comment.

«You two are quite close, aren't you? » And he had the gall to smile like a kind adult walking in on a scene of loving brothers bonding over their new videogame!

«Three! Save me! » I begged the grass-type, which was thankfully nice enough to help.

By help, I mean separating us with its psychic power and throwing Martin into the nearest bushes.

Arceus be thanked for rebellious coconut trees.

Note to self: find a way to develop psychic power. That would undoubtedly come in handy later.

Unfortunately, Big Ma rescued him and brought him with her Vine Whip back to his place on the bench. It was also followed by a powerful smack to the back of the exeggutor's heads and snickering from the rest of the team.

Yikes, after careful consideration, I might not be that jealous of Martin's team after all…

«Sorry to interrupt you, but we were supposed to have a gym battle here. » Bugsy remarked rather casually, though his concern was still obvious.

My expression slipped down slightly. If I had a say in it, no, that gym battle would not be happening at all.

A quick glance in Anna's direction was all the incentive I needed. I did not have the right to back down from this challenge.

«Bring it on. » I hardened my resolve and grinned.

«Technically, the first move is yours, » Bugsy replied.

Great, just great…

My ears and my cheeks burned, even more when I heard my audience restraining itself from laughing out loud.

«Levys! Tackle! »

He leaped out of his aquarium with a surprising speed and dove unto the unmoving metapod. I even thought he would be able to get the first hit before it reacted, but my opponent was a gym leader after all.

«Harden, » Bugsy said, a bit too calm to my liking.

I saw the pokémon's armor glitter for a second and I gulped down. That was not good.

Levys' attack connected without trouble, though I could swear that Bugsy's metapod had not been phased.

On the plus side, he had been pushed back a few feet backward with the hit. On the other hand, Levys had fallen to the ground and was flopping on the ground instinctively.

«Now, counter it with Tackle. »

«Splash! » I yelled as fast as I could.

Once more, my magikarp skyrocketed, spinning more than usual to dodge an incoming attack.

«Quick, Tail Slap! »

Like many before him, Bugsy tilted his head on the side in incomprehension. «What now? » He asked.

I was certainly not going to answer in the middle of battle, or, more precisely, in the middle of said attack.

The metapod did not move in time to dodge and Levys' tail smacked it square in the face (if it had one…).

It was sent flying, with more force than I first remembered. It literally rocketed through the air, going _fast_.

I breathe a sigh a relief. That should be enough to knock it off, right?

«Now, Metapod, String Shot! »

The bug type pokémon shot that disgusting thin web at a tree and used it as a sort of vine to orient its track. Namely… right back onto the field, in Levys' direction.

«Harden. »

This time, the glittering really made me sweat.

It rammed into my starter at full speed.

«Kaaaaaaaaaaaarp! » Levys screamed out in pain.

«LEVYS! » I took a step forward, barely able to stop myself from running onto the battlefield.

He jumped back into his tank without waiting for my order. By the way he was swimming, he was not feeling well. I really wanted to take his pokéball and call him back.

«Karp! » He said, without even needing to look back.

In that word, there was a powerful imperative and I had no trouble imagining what it meant.

_Do not return me!_

I grimaced. I did not like where that was going, but I also knew I would subject myself to some slaps if I dared call him back now.

Levys wanted to fight. He wanted to prove that he was strong; he wanted to be useful to me.

He jumped into the fight as soon as I called his attack. Fighting with a rough eagerness that even impressed me.

His movements were sharper than before, despite the obvious pain he was in. He did not give in to it, even after the metapod successfully attacked him on the very same spot. I almost called him back right there, protest or no protest.

He kept fighting, responding to every assault with a brutal counterattack. The battle, which I had foolishly believed would be easier, turned into a fight of attrition. Levys gave it his all until…

«Meta…pod… »

Bugsy's pokémon fainted; a strong blow to the head had finally brought it down.

Levys jumped back into his tank, his eyes narrowed at the gym leader, issuing a silent challenge.

On the outside, I was concerned, really. On the inside though, my most prominent thoughts were about the fact that Levys had won another fight against a gym leader's pokémon.

«Well done, » the bug type specialist commented, returning his pokémon with an encouraging smile. «However, your pokémon looks a bit tired. Do you think he will be able to defeat my two other pokémon? »

He had to. He deserved it for pushing himself so hard!

«In any case, here comes my second pokémon: Kakuna. »

…did he only have cocoon pokémon? Really? That was a gym leader in front of me, right?

«Magikarp! » Levys taunted his enemy and it noticeably frowned.

For some obscure reason, it managed to look threatening.

I did not like the promise of violence those black soulless eyes contained.

«Kuna… »

«Alright, Kakuna. Let's start things up by a succession of Harden. » Bugsy's voice brought me out of my contemplation.

Oh crap…

«Levys, don't let it finish that! » I almost panicked right there. Two or three Harden and that metapod had been a pain to deal with. I certainly was not going to deal with another battle of stamina.

Levys might lose if that was the case.

He came extremely close to stopping the kakuna right in its track. So close…

But Bugsy's pokémon had been faster and Levys' attack did little to no damage.

This was not good at all.

It got worse.

The pokémon's counterattack consisted of a face full of Poison Sting.

But why stop there? If things were not going my way, they would be going the completely opposite way, without looking back and faster than I could say _anything_.

«Careful, champ! That attack just poisoned your pokémon. » Martin pointed out from the sidelines.

When he got back into his aquarium, Levys was not looking good, at all.

His eyes were halfway shut, even if he was still eagerly preparing himself for the next attack. The grass supporting his fish tank was wet, proof of the energy he had put into each and every single one of his jumps.

«You can do it! » I cheered, my voice trembling.

I was not convinced. Bugsy was not convinced. Neither Martin nor Anna were convinced.

But I could not say anything else.

He was giving this fight everything he had. He wanted to be strong. How could I respond to that with anything but doubtless support? I could not do that to him…

«Tackle! » I ordered, biting my lips as I watched my starter fight with everything he had.

It was not enough.

He did manage to hit the cocoon pokémon quite a few times, with both quick witted decisions and reaction, but Bugsy's kakuna was tough enough to shrug them off. And to top it off, it soon became apparent that the poison in Levys' system was slowing him down.

Twice in a row, he failed to dodge an incoming attack I had warned him against. Without a doubt, he should have succeeded on his second attempt. The kakuna had not even moved that fast…

Levys would not stay down.

He hopped around, with an increasing difficulty, but refused to give up. His eyes were showing that despite all his pain, he would win the fight for me, he would not fail. From where we were standing, his determination was as bright as a Flash.

On that very spot, I understood what I had to do, what I should have done already.

«Levys, return. » I pointed his pokéball at him and I felt my heart twitch at the betrayal his voice held.

He moved out of the way.

«Karp! » He protested.

«Return! » I gritted my teeth and aimed at my starter again.

Only for him to dodge once more.

«Kaarp, magi karp karp! »

«LEVYS! » I screamed and the field fell silent.

He was stunned, shocked even. Had I ever scolded him like that?

«Y-You fought well… but I can't allow you to go any further than this. » I was shaking, but my mind was as strong as steel. I could not back down.

«Karp… » He replied weakly, looking down.

«Return. » This time, he accepted my command and he was absorbed back into the pokéball.

There was this tight knot in my throat. I… I really did not like the way this was going. It would be a repeat of my battle with Falkner all over again, right? I would battle well at first, but then something turned horribly wrong and I would show how incompetent as a trainer I was…

«That was the right decision. » Azalea's gym leader interrupted my train of thought with his usual simple tone. His words did make me feel a bit better too. «Well, I take it you decided to withdraw your magikarp from the fight rather than just switch it. If that is the case, will you send out your next pokémon? »

Hum… did I have to? We were talking about Dora here…

I certainly did not need to study how bad my luck was to determine if sending my little spoiled wooper princess out was a bad idea.

I just knew.

«Dora. » I only called her name. That way… well, maybe she would not spit mud at me right away?

«Woo? » She said questioningly as soon as she materialized.

She glanced at her surroundings quickly, not recognizing the place she was standing in.

Holy Arceus… was this really Dora's _first_ official battle?

«Are you going for a theme? » Bugsy smiled when he saw my pokémon. He did not realize that he had just ticked off Anna. I could feel the neutral vibes of almost anger coming from her general direction. Of course, maybe he did not realize it because Martin was still sending waves of silliness all over the place. Yeah, that was the best explanation. «…Not exactly. »

Bugsy then shrugged, not particularly disappointed. It would have been a fun coincidence, probably, but nothing more.

«Anyway, let's get on with it. The first move is yours, » he declared. This was the moment of truth…

«Dora, Water Gun! » Hopefully, she was in a mood where she wanted to vent on a pokémon rather than me and she would fight.

She grinned evilly and I knew it was a lost cause.

I was even pushed back by the strength of the tiny stream as I struggle to prevent it from reaching my face with my hands. It was like Allan had gotten his hands on his giant water gun all over again. Eh… go figures.

«…Are you alright? » The gym leader was the only one that appeared concerned. Martin was gleefully cheering on me now (how the heck did he manage to write words that floated in midair with Danny's cotton spores?) and Anna had quickly understood the dynamic between myself and my wooper.

«Err… I guess? » I wiped my forehead with my arms and ignored the satisfied smirk on Dora's face.

«If that is the case, the battle can be resumed. Kakuna, Poison Sting! »

The volley of purple needles took Dora by surprise, that was for sure. Then again, she did just the same thing with all of us.

As soon as she noticed the attack, she seemingly panicked only for her to spit water at the last second with enough force to send them right back at the bug type, with the interest of a stream of water.

The kakuna did not recover from that attack.

While I was trying to snap out of it, Dora smugly did her little victory dance again. That had been a one-hit K.O.. Sure, Levys had weakened it, but it had resisted quite well the many attacks.

«Oh, so she is at a higher level than your magikarp? » The gym leader asked innocently, causing me to pause and reflect.

Not that I ever did that before, but…

Was Dora stronger than Levys? Really? Was it wrong that it bugged me?

«I hope for you that it is the case, otherwise… » He let his voice trail off and I picked up the threatening confidence he had in his last pokémon. «Go, Scyther! »

My eyes went wide.

That was a bug type? It was taller than me! Heck, it was at least Bugsy's height! And were those blades where its paws should have been?

My mind supplied me the image of Levys, having finally defeated the kakuna, only to fall prey to those sickles…

I had the conviction I turned green.

Dora was not looking much better herself. Even the boost to her ego that her victory had been was not quite enough to give her the guts to face such a monster.

«Fury Cutter! » Bugsy yelled and his scyther launched itself forward. I knew that Dora's panic was not an act this time. Her eyes went wide as she started running around.

«Behind you! Duck! » I said as fast as I could.

She plunged headfirst into the grass, escaping the bug type by a hair length.

«Not bad, but this is not good enough yet. Scyther, Focus, then follow it up by a set of Fury Cutters! »

The bug type took a stance that distressingly reminded me of martial arts, its eyes closed, before staring at my covering wooper.

It took precisely one attack for her to get pissed off.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously and spit mud right in the scyther's eyes, without me saying anything. Then, while her enemy was blinded, she turned to Bugsy and ran up to him.

My heart skipped a beat when I understood and I promptly shouted at her to stop.

Dora superbly ignored me and made quite an impressive jump, putting her somewhere around the height of Bugsy's shoulders. Without losing a second, she used Mud Shot on the gym leader.

He did not react.

Time froze for a second.

My pokémon had attacked a gym leader.

I let the thought sink in for a second.

I had no idea where my internal organs were supposed to be inside my body now… stomach down to my knees, heart in my throat, guts on fire, fingers glued together, head spinning…

The sole implications of that…

«This battle is over, » Bugsy declared very calmly as he cleaned his face with a towel lying around.

I almost fainted on the spot.

He returned his scyther and ordered me to do the same.

I never whipped out that pokéball faster than at that moment.

He walked up to me, his expression expressing an obvious anger.

«This was an illegal move. » His voice was not even that loud, but it boomed in my ears. «It is forbidden in all matches, whether they be official, sanctioned by the government or a simple challenge in the street. Trained pokémon must never attack another trainer. Under. Any. Circumstances. Do you understand that? »

I nodded very quickly, not noticing the fact that I was on the verge of crying.

«You did not order this. I know that. If you had, I would have requested that your license be taken away right now. However, this does not mean there are not consequences; your pokémon escaped your control. It should not have happened. A wooper may not be able to do much damage as it is, but can you imagine the disaster that would ensue if I lost control of my scyther? »

Yes, yes I could. It was very vivid. To traumatizing levels even.

«You are forbidden from returning here. » His words exploded in my mind.

…forbidden? I could not return? But that was impossible! I had to win against all eight gym leaders to fight the champion! I could not…

«Until you are able to perfectly control your pokémon, I refuse that you step in this gym again. » He cut off my destructive train of thought and limited my panic somewhat. «If I hear of this sort of incident happening again, I will follow on my threat of taking your license away. »

Just like that, he turned around and left me… empty. Just a young trainer desperately evading the gaze of others.

I knew it. I just knew it would happen again.

I felt my eyes water and I did my best to fight the tears, but to no avail.

I was a failure. I could not train pokémon well. Levys was a loyal and incredible pokémon, but I kept hurting him in battle and Dora… she just refused to listen to me.

I felt a sob rise in me and I could not hold it in either. Was every gym going to turn out this way? I would not… I could not put up with that for much longer.

If every time I tried to prove my worth as a trainer turned into a display of my incompetence then I'd rather not… continue to suffer like that…

I caught some movement from the corner of my eye, but it was too blurry. Nonetheless, I turned to face the trees. I did not want my best friend to see me like this.

It was a big and strong hand that fell on the top of my head.

I was at a loss for word for a second, until he just whispered it would be okay.

Something broke inside me. It was as if a barrier that was keeping my reticence away had been destroyed.

I turned around and hugged Martin as strongly as I could, burying my face in his chest, just listening to his repeated words of comfort.

«There, there. Everyone has bad days, cub. » One of his hand gently stroke my hair in a way reminiscent of my late father and that was the last straw. I cried without a single ounce of shame; it was okay if it was Martin. «You know what, cub? After a little trip to the pokémon center, we're going for ice cream again. My treat. »

That made me snort. Twice in a day? Was his next plan about making me fat?

«Three. » He snapped a finger and I felt pulled away from the gym, away from this place full of my humiliation.

And everyone else followed.

* * *

Angela Joy had to hide her surprise when half of the local gym's trainers suddenly appeared in her lobby, but a quick look at Martin was all the explanation she needed.I could hear her mental sigh behind the professionalism and the inviting smiles.

Bugsy and his gym trainers were very embarrassed and confused to have been sent here without notice, though I suspected it had not been _quite _accidental.

An impression that my big brother's hidden grin confirmed.

Through all that madness, Anna had remained stoic, even if part of it was heavily placated on her face. Judging by the compassion she sent me, she had decided that this was a bit too much for her.

* * *

The ice cream was delicious. The whole event was as hilarious as irritating. The merchant had been stunned to see Martin come back and pay for the whole gang again.

And the hijinks that followed with his team, mine and Anna's… well they were their own brand of surreal.

I deliberately looked away when Levys tried to get my attention though. I was not strong enough to face him now. I'd start crying again if I tried.

Long story short, my defeat at Azalea's gym was drowned under ice cream.

Anna's departure soon followed.

«I am glad we could finally see each other again. » She smiled sweetly and placed a hand on my shoulder.

«Y-Yeah, it was fun. » I smiled in return, even if I was a bit startled by so much emotion coming from her.

«Oh, and before I leave, there is something I wanted to give you. » She rummaged through her backpack for a moment before taking out a red bandana and a very small darkgreen earring. «This is something Allan came up with a few days ago. »

«Really? » I frowned, skeptical. Allan? Ideas? Riiiiight.

«Of course not, idiot. It was all me. » She rolled her eyes. «Since we are not traveling together, it would be best to have something to remind us of one another, right? Well, we decided that a code of colors would do. Green for me, red for Allan and blue for you, just like our starters. »

I blinked, surprised.

I had not noticed before, but her belt was a dark shade of green and her necklace held two beads, one blue, one red.

«Hum… » I was fixated on the earring she was holding. Was I supposed…?

«Okay, come closer. Your sweatshirt is already blue, so there's that already. » She walked to behind me and attached the red bandana on my forehead. I closed and my eyes hardened my resolve. Next was the…

Ouch.

That had hurt. Why would girls do that voluntarily (of course, some boys did that too, otherwise, I'd be a really deep shade of red)?

«There, you great hero. » She wiped a knitted tissue on my slightly bleeding ear and placed herself in front of me again. «Like this, it will be like we are traveling together all over again. » Her smile slipped a bit at that and her eyes hid a hint of sadness.

«I… I'm sorry Anna. » I hung up my head in shame.«I did not mean to break our promise. I should not have caught another pokémon. »

«Idiot. » She flung a finger at my forehead. «The whole point of not catching another pokémon was to rely on each other depending of the situation. It was all to get even closer. » There was a small sigh and she smiled a little. «I just wanted to continue spending time with you and Allan. »

Had she declared her undying love for the moon, I would not have been more taken aback.

«Sure I was angry at first… » Understatement much? «…but really, I'm over it. You did your best to repay me and I will say that it was really touching to see you and Levys torn between your own desires and your will to please the other. »

«Huh? »

«Anyway, it's alright for you to go on with more pokémon than Allan and I. It's fine if you can't reach the Elite Four at the same time as us and… » Her eyes widened, as if she suddenly realized something. She looked as if she was fighting the urge to look in someone else's direction for a moment, but it went away the next instant. «…well, I hope you will catch up to us someday. »

«Yeah… » I replied with a half-smile, a bit bugged by her very intense (for her) display of surprise.

«I'll see you around, Captain Ocean. Try not to break any other promise while I'm away, okay? »

Ah yes, now I remembered the nickname Allan and I had given her: Princess Guilt trip.

Well, it had to do that she was not always happy to play the damsel in distress and decided that if she had to be rescued, it would have to be flawless.

«Sure. » I grinned, more at the memory of a bickering Anna than anything else.

She just waved goodbye and left, going to meet the trainer she had initially paid to get here. In a few minutes, she'd be miles away.

«You are not following your girlfriend, champ? » His voice came from just behind me and made me jump.

«Martin! » I turned around, indignant.

«Oh, that's a neat bandana you've got there... and is that an earring I see? » He commented, sounding a bit mocking.

«No, it's a steelix. » I groaned in exasperation.

«Should I throw a pokéball at it then? » His expression turned sly and I paled.

Oh heck no!

I started to run through the city, chased by an overly enthusiastic guy in his mid-twenties.

It was really annoying to have him around (such as tripping in a fountain), but it had its perks (such dragging him in a fountain).

For now, I could forget my worries.

I would have more than my share of those later on.


	12. Trying to run and hitting a wall

**Trying to run and hitting a wall**

«I'll say: Anna really reminds me of Liza, champ. » Martin grinned, having just returned from a delivery at the local pokémon club.

«Who's that? » I asked, confused.

«Just a girl I used to work with. » He shrugged, not willing to elaborate more on that.

Huh? For him to sound dismissive was new. I frowned, but I doubt he even took notice.

«Are you sad that she left? » He asked, sitting down on a nearby bench and flexing his arms. I had not seen what he had carried, but it sure looked heavy.

«A little. It was nice to talk to a friend for once. » I sat down as well, giving him a malicious look.

«You're so mean. » He whined, pouting and doing a surprisingly good interpretation of the growlithe eyes.

Considering he had a Skull that was essentially just a puppy that never grew up (mentally, because he was still my height physically! ), I should have seen it coming.

«But anyway… » He grinned and passed an arm around my shoulder. «What are you going to do now? Do you want to stay around and train some more or would you rather travel some more and come back later? »

I paused, really. This was something I needed to think about. I did not want to make the wrong decision again.

My silence tipped him of and he just ruffled my hair with a smaller grin.

«I understand, champ. »

* * *

For once, I was pretty happy that there were no fireworks to loudly proclaim my departure from a place. In Mahogany, I had been too stressed and relieved to care, in New Bark Town, it was outright disappointing and in Violet City, there was a promise to come back, stronger and far wiser.

Now, I was leaving Azalea with the desire to run away. Of course, I would come back; I had no other choice. However, when it would happen, it'd be prepared. Levys would be much stronger and Dora would not do anything illegal again.

«Heads up, cub. » Martin distracted me and I raised my head a bit absent-mindedly.

I was hit in the face by another String Shot and shivered from head to toes.

That was soon followed by my scream of anger and disgust, almost buried under Martin's insufferable laugher.

That was it!

I grabbed the still stiff string of web with both hands and I pulled with all my strength.

«Spinaaaaaaaa! » We heard a distressed cry of fear and a Spinarak fell to my feet.

No pity for the little monster.

My face would have probably conveyed that feeling very well, if not for the three inches of sticky web all over it. Nonetheless, I was pretty sure that cracking my knuckles menacingly and looming over the bug type was universal enough to get the message across.

«Spiiiiiii! » It promptly ran away while I chased it all the way into the woods.

The little critter even managed to escape by climbing a tree!

I should have noticed sooner that I could not hear his stupid laugh anymore.

I looked around, only to realize that I had no idea of where I had come from. Trees in the middle of a forest were unremarkably similar when there were at least a dozen in your immediate field of vision alone.

I took a deep breath, wondering if I had really done that on my own. Had I really gotten lost minutes after leaving Azalea City?

«Forgive me, dear tree, for the unconventional use of your body… » I said, slumped, before giving in to the urge to repeatedly hit my forehead against it.

However, after a particular strong (and painful…) hit, something fell from the cover of the leaves, a meter away from me at most.

«Kakuna. » The fallen bug type grunted, clearly as shocked as I was.

Except my shock was more tainted with horror than its own could ever be.

I backed away, slowly, without any abrupt movement. The fact that a kakuna had fallen from that tree could only mean one thing.

And I certainly did not plan to stay any longer. In fact, the best course of action would be to leave really quickly, before...

«Beedrill! »

Yeah, that's exactly the sound I did not want to hear at this point. Accompanied by the loud buzzing noise of their moving wings, it was shiver inducing.

Sixteens, that's how many beedrills flew out of that tree. Sixteen giant bug types with drills instead of hands.

Oh, and I lost about a minute counting them rather than running away. If I could hit my forehead without making appear just like a sign of aggression toward the swarm, I'd do it eagerly.

Then again, what were the chances of them not being aggressive already?

The bug types had first hovered near the fallen kakuna and it said something along the lines of «kaku kuna». Afterward, they collectively turned to me, their eyes narrowed in anger.

Oh snap.

I tried to back away, making myself as tiny as possible.

«BEEDRILL! »

Okay, time for plan B. RUNNING!

Oh crap.

I was chased by a wild swarm of beedrills while I was lost in a forest!

Oh crap. Oh crap.

Of course, there was the obligatory root for me to trip on! Couldn't there be fewer roots in a forest?

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!

The first beedrill closed in, an arm raised to inflict grievous body harm.

I rolled on the side, feeling the stinger scrap around the flesh of my back. It stole a yelps of pain from me and I wiped out their pokéballs as a reflex.

«Levys, Dora, help! »

They charged my attacker without missing a beat, pushing it back toward many of its comrades. It only served to make them angrier even if the one they had attacked was flying with more difficulties now.

«Dora, snipe them with Water Gun, quick! » I urged, eying the swarm in fear.

She surprisingly followed my order to the letter. Though considering she was surrounded by aggressive bug types…

Speaking of which, being soaked in water was not enough to discourage them. Actually, they were more shaking with anger than with pain.

They started moving faster, determined to get back at me for disturbing their peace.

One of them got too close to Levys' taste.

My magikarp jumped using Splash and tackled the beedrill into a nearby tree.

When it went down, the rest of them went crazy.

To my great horror, they all flew straight toward Levys.

«Beedrill! » They shouted.

«Dora! Stop them! » I pointed to the crazed swarm and me wooper's expression turned dark.

Three of the bugs were shot down in the space of a few seconds, completely covered in mud.

It was not enough.

I saw Levys jump out of the way, only to be tackled back toward the beedrills by a lone fighter. He landed heavily on the ground and I saw his eyes widen with pain.

I couldn't tell what made me move. All I could say was that the very next moment, I was trying to crush a beedrill between my arms.

«LEAVE HIM ALONE! »

It did not do any good.

Behind me, I heard a cry of pain and I whipped around, only to feel my blood freeze.

A beedrill had stabbed Levys with his stinger.

I saw his blood, tainting the foul's creature body. I saw red.

It had stabbed Levys. It… had stabbed… Levys. _It had stabbed Levys!_

And an urge to kill rose in me, a monster that crawled up in my chest.

Until everything froze. Literally.

Neither me, nor the bug types could make a single movement. Stranger even, they were still floating even while immobile.

«Honestly, your luck is so bad that sometimes I can't help thinking you're doing it on purpose! » His voice rang loud to my ears.

Slightly out of breath, Martin, followed by Skull and Three, ran up to the middle of the battlefield and shot a critical look around.

I could not move most of my body, but it did not reach my face. It allowed me to speak. It allowed me to convey my deeper feeling.

My first thought was nothing like what I usually felt when Martin was being himself. No, I only remembered that he was strong, that he had strong pokémon and that he had us all at his mercy.

«Kill them. » I growled, eyes stinging with tears. I should have been horrified at my own words, sink down and say that I was sorry, but I didn't. If anything, I turned more hysterical and angry than before. «Kill them, Martin! »

Did the pokémon understand my words? I could swear fear had swooped down on them. They were frightened.

«KARP! »

I was shocked out of my anger.

«L-Levys? » I glanced his way, assaulted by an impossible hope.

«Karp, kaaaarp, karp magikarp! » The tone was impossibly harsh and it was directed at me.

Without a word, Martin got next to Levys and examined his wound closely, stopping him from saying another word.

«He's fine. »

«W-What? » But I saw the beedrill _stab_ Levys!

«It looks like it hit a rib or something. The wound is not deep enough to be fatal, » he announced, his gaze critical.

My mind was blown away, replaced only by a complete feeling of relief.

«Karp… » Levys commented weakly.

«Yeah, your master snapped out of it. » Martin gently bandaged the wound. «You can rest now. »

While my big brother figure tended to my starter, my other pokémon was having a good evil time sniping the motionless beedrills with her Mud Shots. She had caught on that she was the only one Martin had allowed to move and given in to her intent to be evil.

«Woo woo woo. » She laughed, when the last of them had fallen as well.

The image of the defenseless bug types being attacked one after the other, shaking as they waited for the assault that would take them down, made me completely nauseous.

My heart quickly sank down when I remembered just _what_ I has asked Martin to do. If I had not… if Levys had…

Three's Psychic died down when Martin took Levys' pokéball and returned him. Without a word, I let go of the remaining beedrill.

It hovered near its struggling, defeated, comrades and I saw its hesitation. It could not leave them behind. It was the last blow to my moral. I gritted my teeth, a piece of that phenomenal anger from before now directed at myself.

«Woo! » Dora gleefully shot another ball of mud.

It hit me in the face.

However, by the expression on her face, that had not been her intention at all. Sure, she would not really complain, but I knew it was not on purpose. After all, I had stepped between the attack and the remaining beedrill.

«Dora, stop. »

She looked back with surprise and I returned her without giving her any other explanation.

It was just me, Martin and his pokémon now.

«Well, teddy, I have to say that's quite the scene I walked into. » He raised an eyebrow and leaned against a tree.

I stayed silent.

«Just what happened when you chased that spinarak? »

I still refused to reply.

«No? Hum… let me guess then. You chased after the pokémon that had shot you in the face, without looking where you were going. You somehow did not think that you could have gotten lost until it actually happened. You then did something stupid which angered all those beedrills and you tried to fight them back with just Levys and Dora. Levys got injured and you snapped.»

Wow, that was frighteningly precise _and_ accurate.

His gaze was not piercing, not even all that disapproving. If anything, it was… sad.

«Okay, I think I get where you're coming from, but please don't ask that of me again. » And Martin smiled, though it was a smile that carried a pain that shocked me. «That's just cold, champ. »

«I… that's… » What exactly would have happened if he had just followed my order?

«Come on now, let's get Levys all patched up. » He took my hand softly and I was pulled somewhere else.

* * *

Angela Joy, that really sympathetic nurse, had not put Levys into the healing machine just yet. No, she had said that the wound _should_ have been deeper and that it was not normal. There were no ribs where he was stabbed; that had been his stomach.

Mine was pretty lively on the other hand. Yeah, it jumped around, sometimes wandered closer to my throat, sometimes going to greet my knees.

I had been granted a room until she was done with Levys, at my request.

I had been wrong. I tried to run away from my problems without facing them and I had to do that now.

It did not involve Bugsy. No, that was not that bad.

I had to talk to my pokémon. Before anything else, _that_ was what I had to do. I owed Levys an explanation and Dora… a scolding, I guess.

Better late than never.

«Come on out, Dora… » I threw the pokéball at the ground and my wooper materialized.

Her first act was to pout and sulk. It was a nice alternative to being attacked once more.

«Woo. » She mumbled sullenly.

«Why did you do that? » I asked quietly.

«Wooper! » She sounded cheerful and that truth deranged me.

_Because it's fun!_

That was what it sounded like to me and, judging by the delight she had taken then, I was right.

«It's wrong though. »

My comment seemed to have little to no effect on her. She gave me the very distinct impression of shrugging it off, _without arms_. Wow, Dora had good shades of acting to her belt.

«Dora, you hated being powerless in Skull's paws, right? » Perhaps… making her reflect through her own experiences…?

She glared, equally from the reminder of a defeat than because of her indignation.

My memory chose that moment to remind me that I had actually let her get mercilessly get licked by the gigantic houndoom without helping right away.

…Great. Just the kind of thing I needed when I was trying to discuss morality with my delinquent princess-like wooper.

«Err… Sorry? I guess I was angry because of the Water Gun from earlier. » I scratched the back of my head sheepishly with a timid grin. «I'm not helping my case, am I? »

«Woo. » She turned her head haughtily and closed her eyes, diva-like.

So… I had to smooth her feathers… even though she had no feathers to begin with and was more slimy than anything?

«No, really. I'm sorry. » I lied down on the ground, my face at her level, kind of like an offering to her need of violence and muddy defeated enemies. I just hope I wasn't part of that category for now.

«Woo? » She opened one eye slightly, trying to sound like she was not in the least interested, but failing in an adorable way.

«You're way too pretty for me to be anything but monstrous for letting you get licked by a bad dog. » I soothed, eyes wide and starry for added effect.

Oh, the way she was trying not to care was so _cute_! It was just like a little kid trying to hold her pride when presented with a really nice toy she could get if she apologized.

«Do you forgive me, pretty please with oran berries on top? » I held up my hands in a little prayer motion, winking at her.

«Woo… » She casually hesitated, before breaking into a smile. «Wooper. »

I grinned as well and did my best not to hug her; she would have repelled me with a powerful stream of water.

I sat up, feeling light-hearted after having dealt with that little crisis.

«Oh, that reminds me. » I blinked, acting as if I had forgotten something to get her attention. «Please don't attack trainers. »

«Woooo? » She looked confused.

«Yeah, that means every human that is not Martin. It could bring me trouble. »

She instantly looked sly and I felt a shiver.

Crap! I had to correct this fast or I was agoner!

«It means I lost the battle. By extension, it also means that you lose, since you were the one fighting. »

She froze.

«Yeah, it's sad and unfair, but that's the rule. If you attack a trainer rather than its pokémon, you just lost. » I shrugged, trying to appear casual.

«Woo, wooper! » She protested, a big panic in her voice.

«Yeah, I'm afraid that means you lost against Bugsy. »

Her little jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes widened.

«So, basically, it means that unless we're fighting a wild pokémon or someone I give you the explicit order to, like a criminal or something, then you can't attack the other trainer.»

She pouted again, deprived of her fun and wounded in her pride.

«Don't worry; I know it was just because you did not know the rules. You will win every battle from now on. » I patted her head gently and it seemed to have a minimum of a soothing effect.

I barely flinched when the mud hit me. I even grinned afterward.

«Yeah, like that. » I snickered and to my great pleasure, she joined in on the hilarity.

I was not such a bad trainer after all.

* * *

I considered the fact that she only used Water Gun later on a good progress in our relationship. After all, it helped wash away the mud.

She even followed my silent order to be quiet when I heard footsteps and people speaking in the corridor.

«I did not realize you had resigned from your job, Martin. I was under the impression you actually liked delivering things all over Johto. » A feminine voice commented.

«That's because I did not resign. » Just with the tone, you could tell he was rolling his eyes.

«Oh, right. It is much more likely that you have been fired. » That did sound suspiciously like this place's Nurse Joy.

«Okay, now you're just teasing me. Why would you say that? »

«Because I recall having pokémon capable of using Teleport forbidden to delivery men and the likes. »

I gasped and suppressed my desire to run out of my room and face them right now.

«Oh, that? It's an old law they passed because of the Grand Scandal of Pokébig Inc.. They were frauds that kept smuggling their goods with Teleport to avoid paying importation taxes. If I can prove that I am not using Three as a mean of transportation, mostly through a simple timeline calculus, then at worst I get a fine to pay. » He sounded very casual with it and I was not sure I liked it. If it was illegal, he ought not to even think about it, right?

«Let's just say I agree for a second there, Mr. Slyder. Why? Why would you suddenly decide to withdraw your exeggutor – and the remaining half of your team at the same time – from your storage all of a sudden? »

«I just had to carry a little teddy on my back for hours because he had punched a tentacool. Does that answer your question? » Was he _snickering_?

Arceus… the more I spent time with Martin, the guiltier I felt. Of course, it was all his machinations to make me his slave under the cover of being a goofy nice guy, but still…

Either the Universe did not like me or I was just that stupid.

…Though call.

The door opened on Angela Joy and Martin, the former sighing while the second was grinning from one ear to the other.

«Hey champ! » He greeted me enthusiastically.

What? Had I done something special while I was not looking? Because I clearly remembered his pained smile the last time I saw him.

«Hum… hey? » I hesitated, frowning.

«Ah, finally someone that will not answer to me only with acidic passive-agressiveness. Someone that loves me for who I am! » He literally appeared next to me and put an arm around my neck.

«You've got the wrong person then. » I deadpanned.

«Really? » He asked dramatically.

«Really. » I nodded, one hundred percent serious.

«_Really?_ » He insisted, sounding twice as betrayed.

Except someone that felt betrayed would not have let this sly amused light glitter in his eyes for a second.

Swallowing feraligatr tears, he sobbed once before using his free arm to ensnarl me into an inescapable grip. Flipped over, he threw me onto the ground, making me lay face against the floor while he sat on me and pulled one of my legs.

«Love Hold! » He said, crying tears that would not fool anyone.

Reaching forward, I tried to get Dora's support.

«Help please! »

Dora suddenly tilted her head, an evil grin on her face. A second later, she was the living incarnation of innocence and was looking questioningly at us.

My forehead hit the ground in desperation and I groaned.

«Alright children, if you could stop playing «king of hill», I would be able to do my job here. » Angela grabbed Martin and pulled him out of the way, to our collective shock.

Was it possible to fall in love with a Nurse Joy?

«Here, I have healed your magikarp and I can assure you that he is healthy. » She pushed a pokéball into my hand, but frowned. «However, I have also found something peculiar about him. »

«W-What is it? » I gulped down nervously. Nothing bad had happened to him, right? She just said so…

«Your magikarp seems to have a rock stuck in his stomach. »

I could hear a pin drop.

«A-A rock? » Dear Arceus, was that Martin? It sounded nothing like him.

Admittedly, maybe it was my perception of things that had gone awry. After all, the room had started to darken as soon as she said it. It darkened to the point of looking like the lake.

«Champ? »

My hand gripped my belly powerfully, as I was reminded of the _hunger_. Desperate, looking for something to eat, resorting to eating anything I could find… even a rock… if only to calm the hunger for a few moments.

A hand was waved in front of my eyes and I blinked, brought back into the pokémon center.

«Are you okay? » Martin tilted his head, apparently concerned.

«I guess… » I frowned and bit my lips.

«In any case, it is not life threatening. That rock seems firmly locked in place against the walls of his stomach. It has been at least a month and since it is too big for his digestive track, I say you were lucky it stayed there. However, it also brings a few complications as well. » I winced at that. Please nothing severe, please. «The biggest one is that it affects his hunger, but not his need for nutriments, meaning that even if he feels full, he probably needs more. So far, he seems to have stayed healthy enough, but I would not push your luck any further. Even if he refuses, try to feed him the recommended portions. If this proves to be too much trouble, you may try to feed him the last pieces not too long after the first two. It may help him accept it. »

Unbeknownst to her, some souvenirs were linking themselves in my mind.

Two balls… instead of three. Each ball of food… the size of a palm-sized rock.

«Should… should I request an operation or something like that? » I asked, eying Levys' pokéball carefully.

«I do not believe this would be necessary. From what I gathered, your magikarp will evolve shortly. As soon as this happens, it will most likely expulse that rock through natural ways and even if it did not, it would be too small to have significant effects. » She shook her head with a small comforting smile.

I found it easy to breathe again. Everything would be fine then.

«As for his wounds, they have been healed completely, but I suggest not submitting him to violent exercises. Keep battling with your magikarp to a minimum. He is already tired from his recovery. »

After an encouragement full of the warmth of her profession, she left, probably to take care of some other trainer's pokémon.

«Well, what do you want to do now, champ? » He sat down on the bed and whistled one of his favorite songs.

«Isn't it obvious? » I raised an eyebrow even if I felt like grinning a little.

He replied with a twisted grin of his own.

«Yeah, you're easy to read, cub. »

* * *

We were a bit lucky. There hadn't been any other swarm of beedrills (though if it had happened, Martin had promised to take care of them this time, I did not want to risk the same thing happening twice in one day).

Some might have remarked that it had to do with not swaying away from the path, but I disagreed. This was not the tale of the Big Bad Mighthyena.

For example, there was no shrine at the intersection between both paths.

Martin called for a pause when we reached it, declaring that I should use this opportunity to relax. I was not against a little rest, as my feet were killing me, but I still found that intriguing.

Usually, when he wanted a break, it was to eat or anything that was more natural than mental, but this time he did not give a justification.

I thought it was a bit weird…

…An impression that was only strengthened when he walked directly to the shrine and placed something small on top of it.

Eaten by the curiosity, I went to stand next to him and noticed he was saying something silently, his eyes closed. To add to the awkwardness, I realized that the «something» I had seen was in fact a chocolate buneary.

«What are you doing? » I said.

«Is it not obvious? » He turned to me with a warm smile and an unusual depth to his eyes. «This is an offering. »

«To whom? » My mouth outspeed my thoughts and I blurted it out without consideration.

«To someone dear to me, champ. » He ruffled my hair like a much smaller child and I felt like I was way intruding. Unfortunately, it also annoyed me after all his claim of love and friendship and his joy at brotherly comparisons between us.

«With chocolate? » I pointed out acidly.

It earned me a headlock and a noogie.

Well, as painful as that was, at least Martin was back to his usual goofy self. That made me smile.

«Yeah, with chocolate. » He nodded, once he had dropped me to the ground.

«Doesn't that attract wild pokémon here? There won't be much of an offering left that way. » I grimaced, hoping he had an irritatingly logical answer to that. He usually had one.

«Well, that will give him company. » He shrugged, not in the least concerned (to my secret relief). «With a little luck, it might even bring Ringa back here. »

«Who? »

Crap! I really had to watch my mouth.

He crouched as to get to my level and flickered a finger at my forehead.

«Okay, too much questions. I'm bored! » He exclaimed cheerfully, a bit too spontaneously to my taste.

Well, the positive was that I had the sense not to call him out on that, proving that no, my mouth was not an independent part of my body just yet. That could be inconvenient. Like ending up saying Allan was brilliant or declaring my undying loyalty to a ponyta.

Martin's idea of how to make sure he was not bored anymore was to let out his entire team and play a game of tag. Oh, and drag me into it of course.

So it pretty much went three ways. Running away from a dog, hard. Running away from a cotton ball, really hard. Running away from psychics, plain impossible.

Three guesses at how many times I was «it» during that game. And yeah, bet on high numbers.

Bless Ma for being the noncompetitive motherly kind. She took pity on me once or twice and let me caught up with her.

Even his slow pokémon were faster than me… that was a low blow if I ever saw one. Disguised rather skillfully for a goofy guy like him.

Hum… there was more to Martin than the average eye could tell.

* * *

We barely made more progress than that for the rest of the day. There were not quite as many pokémon as I would have imagined here. At least, it was not as bad as the Union Cave. In fact, I would have been _pissed_ if it had turned out that way.

Point being, Dora got to fight a few times while I did not let Levys out of his pokéball, following Nurse Joy's advices. With each battle, I kept getting the feeling something was off about my wooper. If Martin was to be believed, that was my intuition warning me about her soon-to-be evolution.

I… had certain doubts about that. For starters, that sounded a bit too much like feminine intuition to my liking. A fact about which I very maturely teased Martin about, until he sent Skull after me (meaning I had almost drowned in dog's spite). Needless to say, I was not exactly pleasant to be around during the evening.

Except when dealing with my pokémon.

I had gotten around to explaining Levys about the rock he had eaten and what we had to do for now rather quickly.

We did not talk about the gym battle though, nor about the beedrill incident.

With but a few glances, we had known about what the other felt… I hoped. A single nod and we had agreed not to delve on it, at least not today. Was it the wrong choice? Perhaps, but if the alternative meant a fight with my starter, I'd make the wrong choice for now. I had a bit much on my mind and my moral compass as of now.

A fact that did not fail to give me a dreadful presentiment about the future.


	13. It's time to go shopping!

**It's time to go shopping!  
**

We avoided pretty much any and all drama during the rest of our travel through the woods. It was a nice break to have.

«Well, we're almost through the forest. After that, there's something like an hour of walk until Goldenrod City. Aren't you happy, champ? » Martin commented, content with how the day had started.

I nodded, smirking all the way.

It had gone well. When I had taken out Levys, he had managed to defeat most of his opponents and those still standing were always finished by Dora's attacks.

And the bug type trainer I had faced earlier? Let's not even delve into that one.

I grinned. It had been extremely satisfying to get some form of revenge against bug types in general with that little battle.

Granted, he was far from the level of a gym leader (that apparently really were not giving it their all in battles! ), but that was a good start. At least I could count myself lucky that I had not developed a bug type phobia or something. Between that gym battle and the beedrill incident… yeah, they were not going to be my favorite type.

More worrying though was the statement Martin had made earlier, saying that both my pokémon were close to evolving.

It… it felt weird to think of it happening as fast as that. I was still getting used to having Dora around, her changing so soon just…

Well, I did not like it too much.

Not that my thoughts affected the speed at which we traveled or anything. I had not been called a few times by Martin while he was getting quite ahead of me. That had not happened. Nor did I run after him to catch up and promptly arrived at the end of Illex Forest.

I covered my eyes when we left the cover of the trees.

Martin looked at me expectantly, but I didn't hiss this time (he was not going to let me live it down, would he?).

«Look up, champ. We're on our way to Goldenrod for real now. » He grinned and passed an arm around my neck, pulling me close to his neck and shoulder.

«Not the first time we tried that, remember? » I struggled to get free, without much success.

«You're always so pessimistic. » He pouted, throwing me on his shoulder and carrying me away.

I trashed, but still did not escape his iron grip.

For the love of Arceus, please let there be no trainers on that road! I was too young to die of embarrassment! Again!

By some weird twist of fate, there weren't any around, though there were a lot of drowzees around.

They crept me out. The soulless eyes were bad enough, but we happened to stumble on a group of these having dinner. On my list of creepy things that would keep me up at night soon, a circle of psychic types eating, and grunting with satisfaction, some pink gas coming out of a sleeping rattata, the latter of which was obviously having a nightmare, was definitely a winner as long as trivia went. I did not squeak in fear and kick and scratch at the air when I was dreaming of becoming champion.

I absolutely refused to battle the wild ones in the area after that, not even when Dora begged me to.

Martin thought I was silly when I said so and I kicked him in the shin. That should teach him to mock me.

Just like all those other times.

After a while, he got tired of carrying me and dropped me unceremoniously, or at least I thought he was. It was a bit unclear when he just walked to a rather large house bordered by a high fence. From close up, I could make out some pokémon cries.

Now, while I was not quite used to a trainer's life (having spent my fair share of time at the hospital! ), I knew about the daycare center. Basically, where you sent your pokémon on vacation and got eggs afterward.

«Delivery time! » Martin announced loud and clear as he knocked on the wooden door.

«Which one is it this time? » A grumpy raspy voice came out from behind it.

To my delight, Martin shifted on his feet with an obvious discomfort and shot a glance at me.

«Martin. I've been here twice or thrice already. » He definitely was uncomfortable now.

«You know full well I don't deal with names! » The old man (that could _not_ be an old lady, _right?_) shouted with annoyance.

«It's the… » Oh Karma, tell me this is not a dream and that he's _really_ blushing! «…the happy fool that tripped down the aisle and fell on a… » He cleared his throat and tried to finish his sentence in a whisper, but it only got an annoyed «What did you say? » from the old guy.

I, of course, was now standing as close as possible to Martin just to make sure I heard perfectly about whatever was embarrassing him.

«…fell on an Aggron that was enthusiastic about a Snorlax. »

I stared.

«Ah yes! The one that always has that goofy air to him, right? »

That was more than I could take. I fell down to my knees, laughing my heart, lungs and other organs out.

It was met by a swift retaliation from Martin.

«Hey Skull, champ wanna play with you! He says he has a present to give you. » His cheerful attitude was but an act to convince his dear houndoom to push me to the ground and crush me under his weight.

Not that it stopped my hilarity.

What's more, Skull's licking was more ticklish than anything, so I was really going to face some severe lack of oxygen in a few moments.

That was until his paw slipped on my belly and he kicked downward… below the belt…

Wordless pain.

Unbelievable, infinite, wordless pain.

Definitely out of breath now. Out of hilarity too.

Oh, and Skull was not getting off anytime soon either.

Someone ought to teach that big puppy how to read the mood AND not to attack guys _there_!

I shot a look at the daycare center, only to find out that Martin had gotten inside and was talking with someone I could not see.

So it was up to me to get out of this predicament. «Hey, Sk-SkULl! » I spoke with a cooing voice, hoping to remind him of his stupid master. Unfortunately, the occasional high pitches variation might have thrown him off. «SeE THe invisible STIck. » I waved my empty hand while I was pretending to hold some sort of wooden stick in it.

Fortunately, Skull's eyes lit up and he barked enthusiastically.

I made a throwing motion and he jumped after the nonexistent stick, his tail moving wildly behind him.

Phew, I could now breathe and wait for the pain to subdue in peace now…

«Champ? » He sounded a bit worried and was shouting glances around to see where his dark type had wandered off to.

«I. Hate. You. » I grunted, the tremors in my voice not quite fixed yet.

«What happened? » He tilted his head to the side and I refused to say anything. No way was I going to humiliate myself even more!

Too bad my position gave it away.

«Ah, yes. I see. » Well, crap! «I remember the first time it happened to me, cub. » He held back a snort and sat down, placing some papers in his backpack. «My first time was with that girl in Chuck's gym. »

Oh Arceus… that sounded so much like… No.

No, I was not going to hear that.

By the look on his face, yes, I was going to hear it. What a vicious tolerant semi-sad and sympathetic smile!

«She was kind of pretty and really strong minded, so it was a bit of love at first sight. » He took on a nostalgic tone while I decided that, no, it was not happening.

Lalalalalala, I can't hear youuuuu, Martin.

«I guess my way of asking her out was a bit too enthusiastic for her. »

I'm singing in my head, lalalala! I don't want to hear it!

«She packed one heck of a kick. » He finished with a wince.

Oh. OH! Arceus, I thank thy grace and generosity a thousand times over. You are the most benevolent being in the Universe and all pales compared to you.

«…What did you do for her to kick you in the...? » I asked, letting the end of my question trail off. The less I thought about it, the less it hurts.

Visualization, it worked.

«I introduced myself with fireworks. » He smiled timidly and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

And here was my hilarity back. Nice.

«Hey, I'm pouring my heart out and you laugh? »

«Yup. » I nodded, grinning.

«Okay, you asked for it. » He lifted me again and threw me down the river.

The water was suitably cold, which was a nice reprise from the absolutely freezing lakes I had made contact with earlier.

Still, there was an injustice to be spoken here and I did just that.

«Hey! You laughed at me too! » He frowned, a bit skeptical. I avoided his gaze, because unless you counted just now when he was trying not to, it had been a while…

«Ah, fair enough. » He shrugged. «Three. » He dropped his exeggutor's pokéball and snapped his fingers.

«Cutor! » The grass type nodded all three of his heads and glowed blue.

To be frank, I was expecting him to help me out of the river, _not_ launch Martin into the nearby foliage.

A few seconds later, his face emerged from the cover of the leaves, all the while snickering and stroking his painful bruises.

«Satisfied, oh lil' teddy? » He rested his chin on his palm and waved his eyebrows at me.

I cracked up.

It felt good to laugh. Really, it felt incredibly nice to laugh and laugh and keep laughing all the time. It was just so liberating.

I could see why Martin was always cheerful. If it led to these kinds of moments, then it was worth it.

Slowly, I managed to calm down enough to actually climb the shore I had been clinging to all this time. He even offered a hand and Skull's heat to dry me up as soon as he was back. I had not yet calmed down enough to look at Martin in the eyes though, not without starting up again.

There was a conspiracy against me. Otherwise, Skull would not have come back at this exact moment, whining and his tail between his legs. The poor houndoom was sadly pushing against his master's hand and licking for forgiveness.

The poor dog had not found the stick to play fetch.

I was a lost cause until we arrived in Goldenrod City.

* * *

«Let's see… I've got at least six orders that require me to go at the Department store, one at the Radio Tower and two at the florist. Which one should I go first, champ? » Martin turned to me, pondering the question with a great serious.

«The Department store. » I replied absently.

I had something else on my mind. For example, the fact that there was a gym in this city.

And I did not feel ready to face another one.

«In that case, how about we go out for a bit of shopping? » He suggested with a grin, obviously having a plan in mind.

Yeah, that was a nice idea. It would give me the time to think about strategies and stuff like that for my gym battle. Plus, it was an appealing suggestion to get a change of pace. The only problem was…

«That sounds girly, » I remarked, hiding the fact that I really hoped he had a good argument.

«And what would Anna say if she heard you now? » He put me through another surprise headlock for that.

«She'd shrug and say «meh, so what? » and leave. » I gritted my teeth and pulled his arm away from me.

«Sounds about right. » He shrugged himself and dropped me, just badly enough for me to fall on my butt. It earned him a glare. «Well, I'm too old to care about appearances and you can always say I dragged you into this. »

Hum… I liked the proposition, mostly because that was my intention from the very start.

But all my plans were completely destroyed when we walked past a café that had a few televisions sets around. Yes, I was hungry, but what really changed things was the small crowd staring in awe and worry at them.

I could understand their point of view.

It was a simple news report, but it had gotten quite the attention already. Perhaps because it was about a vicious dangerous wild pokémon alert.

Adults always tell their children that wild pokémon are dangerous. They wasted a lot of time doing that (or, well, my mom did, I had grown up near a lake that had been famous for its gyarados, I knew the whole stick about dangerous pokémon). It would have been so much easier for them to just show them that video.

Well, not much screamed danger like a wild rapidash dancing around the attacks of the Mike Stelson, the leader of Blackthorn City's gym.

The images showed the fire type running in a straight line toward him, horn posed to impale.

Some people gasped around me and I would have done the same, except I did not have the time.

At the last second, his dragonair jumped in the way and pulled it away.

It started trashing, kicking and spitting fire while the dragon type simply tightened its grasp.

It let out a heartbreaking whine and fainted.

My eyes were fully opened, fixed on the screen where the reporter had reappeared, explaining the scene in details.

«Earlier this morning, an anonymous phone call tipped Mike Stelson, leader of the last gym on the training circuit, of the presence of a rampaging wild pokémon on Route 45. Our regional dragon-type specialist immediately left Blackthorn City with a group of gym trainers to subdue the pokémon before it could cause serious harm. » The reporter's face turned stern. « However, the wild pokémon seemed to have been much stronger than expected and sent two of Mike Stelson's gym trainers to the hospital for injuries of varying degree, though it has been assessed that their lives were no longer in danger. The training government has since now dispatched specialists and have taken the rapidash into custody for further evaluations of its condition. No experts have pronounced anything on the subject, but it seems that the general consent is that a wild pokémon of that level rampaging should be put to death if it shows any more signs of aggression. »

Before I could really digest these news, the reporter turned to her left where an expert of some sort was waiting on a couch.

«Mister Flagberry, what is your opinion on the question? »

«Well, you see, my dear Miss. Greengrass, the true question seems to lie elsewhere. » I instantly dislike the guy. His voice was a fake silky tone that just felt like too much sugar, but that was nothing compared to the rest. The way he moved, the slight underlying superiority he let filter through his words; it was disgusting. The man leaned further into the piece of furniture, seemingly having some deep thoughts. Emphasis on seemingly. «Actually, this seems to bring another light to the voice of the many adults voicing their complaints about pokémon training. »

What was it with rocks and my stomach? Every day there seemed to be one to fall down there!

«After all, Miss Greengrass, a pokémon of that level is not commonly found in the wild. Forgive me for my impunity, as these are merely speculations, but I have trouble believing that such a powerful rapidash would have been able to stay in the wild for so long without anyone noticing. Clearly, it shows the symptoms of a pokémon that has been placed into a foreign environment brutally. Panic, highly aggressive and territorial behavior, yes, I believe that this rapidash did not live long on Route 45. »

What was he getting at?

«What do you mean? » Miss Greengrass asked, apparently just as confused as I was.

«I mean that a pokémon should not be this strong in the wild. I mean that this pokémon was put into a foreign environment, not wandered off of its own volition. The only thing that makes both of these possible is if a trainer had simply released it. »

My general opinion was that I must have looked paled just now. Then, I saw the look on Martin's face and gasped.

«He's wrong. » He whispered to himself, looking nervous. «You can find rapidashes that strong in the wild. There's a place that… » His voice trailed off, but not before someone turned and gasped.

People started staring. Well, actually, trainers over sixteen did.

«Martin? What are you…? »

«Ahhhh, who cares? » He suddenly shouted, taking me (and most of the others) by surprise. «We came here to have fun on my day off work! »

«What day off? I thought you wanted to gather your stuff for work later on? »

«Not anymore! » He grinned and put his index on my nose... his way of contradicting me… weird.

«Okay, what the heck is up with your job! » There was this unexplained anger in me and I needed to get if off somehow, somewhere. «You can give me free stuff, you can choose which orders you take, you can take days off whenever without notice? And don't tell me that you're a free-lancer or something, your uniform is _hideous_! »

He blinked. The whole crowd blinked.

Oops, I had forgotten about them… while I was still in the middle of it.

Okay, I had to teach Dig to Dora. It would prove useful in so many situations! Then again…

Martin snorted and lifted me, bear hug style.

«Awwww, you have got to be the funniest and cutest little brother ever! » He laughed, ruffling my hair all the wrong ways.

«Brother? » Someone whispered.

That's it. The rumors would fly and I would soon have no chance of ever being taken seriously by anyone. Goodbye championship, it was fun dreaming of you while it lasted…

«Alright! » Again, with the unceremonious drop, followed by one fist raised toward the sky. «To the shopping malls! »

And, just to top it off, my stomach growled the very next second. Loudly.

«Or… we could just get lunch before that. What do you think? » He proposed, a bit less excitably so and quite politely.

I blushed.

«Well, all the answer I needed. » He helped me stand up and started walking away. «Now… to find a place we can eat. »

My eyes fell on the rest of the staring crowd, then on the insignia clearly announcing, in big flashy letters, that it was a café.

«I don't mind staying, champ, but I hear they serve Fish an' chips here. So, are we staying here or are we going somewhere else? »

It did not take me a second.

«Somewhere else! FOR ARCEUS' SAKE, SOMEWHERE ELSE! » I ran off after him and left behind me a bunch of stunned trainers and other people.

Later on that day, I heard the rumor about Sunny Martin being in town with his little brother. Apparently, I was described as just as lunatic as him.

I wanted to throw myself in the park's biggest fountain where I heard that.

* * *

«Well, how was your meal, cub? » He asked, being just done with his.

«It was good. » I smiled.

It was much easier being happy on a full stomach.

«Yes, I bet you even liked what happened while you were eating too. » He grinned himself, recalling the incident.

It was simple really.

I had gotten both Levys and Dora out for the duration of the lunch and they got their treats. While Levys was just eating happily (a bit more than he really wanted, following Nurse Joy's recommendations), Dora had discovered that the meal she wanted was not quite up to her standards, so she stopped eating. Levys then showed how cool of a pokémon he was and said something to her that soothed her a little and they switched their meals.

Later on, an idiot had walked up to our table and started spouting stupidities about Levys being a weak pokémon and all.

To everyone's surprise, Dora had been the first to react with a well-aimed Mud Shot.

While Levys and I were staring, mouth wide, Martin inconspicuously dropped Skull's pokéball, entirely by accident if we were to believe his claims, and that ever loyal houndoom managed to chase off the idiot with just happy barks which were mistaken for aggression.

Hey, I did say Dora had been the _first_ to react.

Truth to be told, the magikarp jokes had already gotten old, like creation-of-the-Universe-by-Arceus old, but even then my only focus was on Dora.

Unprovoked, she had attacked someone else. She actually had reacted when Levys had been insulted.

Parts of me were hoping it was not just temporary goodness from a good mood or just repaying the favor for the meal.

«Of course I did, » I replied with a grin of my own.

I'd like a unified team. They were stronger, right?

Just as my thought trailed off to that, I caught sight of a weird woman. No, she was not wearing anything odd, her haircut was not bad, she was eating something normal and not even her pearl necklace was that abnormal (considering my bandana and green earring). Actually, it was not so much her appearance (dark-haired lady anyone?) or her oddly shaped pipe, but the vibes she was giving off.

She felt exactly like the priest from Violet City.

A shiver went down my spine when she glanced my way.

I resolutely looked away, focusing instead on my water types, both arguing with the other over something I could not decipher.

I tried, I _really_ tried to concentrate on my team, but I could not fight off the feeling that she was still looking at me.

Finally, I spoke up, with a shy, shaking voice I had never thought of using in public.

«C-Can we go now? » I blushed and gritted my teeth, trying to ignore everything from my pokémon's surprised expressions to that woman's stare.

«Of course we can! » He stood up with an overflowing enthusiasm, paid for the lunch before I could say «magikarp» and pulled me away from the restaurant.

I noticed before how his attitude managed to often cheer me up. Often being the key word here.

As we went on with our shopping trip, I could not shake off a certain feeling of dread.

* * *

The shopping trip turned out to be properly amazing in terms of fun. It was incredibly refreshing to avoid thinking about incoming battles. I did not notice how contradictory that was for a kid pretending to aim for the championship.

However, if I were to highlight some moments of the day, I would elect the time we spent in the enormous department store that had made Goldenrod's reputation across the world.

Dozens and hundreds of articles lying around, everything for the sake of a person's pure delight.

Had I been a girl (that was not Anna), I would have squeed with excitement.

And then we hit the trainer's floors.

Paradise. Holy paradise.

It had _everything_ I could have asked for and so much more!

For example, two technical machines, courtesy of Martin (yet again the chains tightened around my neck, soon I would be so indebted to him, I'd have to give him the championship once I had won it).

«H-huh? » I stared dumbly at the two disks.

«It's a little something I got for your two stars. I'm sure they will turn out useful once they evolve. » He winked at me and I eyed the TMs like they were about to explode.

It would be just like him to booby-trap gifts.

Wait… no, that was what I intended to do to him. Hehe…

«That's a twisted look you've put on, cub, » Martin remarked, walking past me and snickering.

Ah, note to self: my poker face, it needs work.

Since my intentions had been brought to the light of the day, I decided I might as well live up to them.

First, I bought some pokémon food to bribe Three with. He was already a near perfect ally, but a little incentive could not hurt.

Second, I bought some pokémon food to actually feed my own pokémon when we'll leave Goldenrod.

Third… I got some snacks for myself?

There truly was nothing like a well-established plan.

«Woo? » Dora asked me, once I let out of her pokéball.

«Okay, Dora, I'm feeling generous. Is there anything you want in here? » I grinned and opened my arms, making her look around seriously.

Her little eyes widened with delight and she started jumping down the alleys, skillfully dodging the common customers in her rampage.

For a second there, I did a double take on my idea of letting her out in a commercial center, where she was bound to create some trouble for herself (and, by extension, me).

Then I shrugged. She usually acted nice to strangers just to fool them, not that I was complaining.

«Levys. » I called, and grabbed my magikarp before he fell to the ground.

«Karp? » He tilted his head in my arms and frowned. Wow, it had been a while since I called him just to have fun. I should really be a little less training-driven.

«Long story short. We're in a big pokémart, I happen to have a little extra cash lying around, courtesy of never having to use it because of Martin, so… is there anything here you would like to have? »

«Karp. » He shook his head.

«But you haven't even looked around, » I said.

«Karp. » He nodded, fully aware of that fact. «Magikarp kaaarp magikarp. »

«Are you sure you don't want anything? » I pressed the question. I wanted to spoil him somewhat. He was my starter; I should do that, right?

«Karp. » He moved closer to my chest and closed his eyes in contempt.

I almost started crying on the spot. I hid it with a shaking laugh. I was really happy and for a second, it seemed like I'd be allowed to stay happy for more than an instant. Eh, how naïve of me.

«Will the trainer that released his or her wooper come to the front desk of the third floor please? » A voice echoed through the store, coming from the speakers on the ceiling.

Oops.

* * *

«I really don't see how it is that funny, » I grumbled as we walked on the sidewalk.

«Oh please, lil' teddy. That was funny. You got kicked out of the department store for triggering the sparklers! » He snickered while drying his hair with a little help from his houndoom.

True, it was not my best move yet, but it was all an accident. Who placed smoke bombs so close to a struggling pokémon anyway?

I learned another valuable lesson today. Dora was not to be ever left alone without intense surveillance. Who knew being a trainer could be so bothersome?

«Cheer up, champ. There's no need to be moody. It's all good experiences to learn from,» he said and then returned Skull after a pat and a bit more cooing.

«Is it? Is it really? » I bit my cheeks to stop myself from lashing out at him… well, worse than I already did.

«Yup. » He patted my head condescendingly, as he sometimes did while talking about training. I could not deny his obvious superiority over me in that domain.

But that was only temporary. I will defeat Martin one day! Then we'll see who'll pat the other's head!

…wait… that didn't sound right.

«Why did you hit your head with your palm? » He asked, confused.

«No reason. »

«Oh… of course… » He leaned closer, all sly grins and smug eyes.

«Look! Something exciting is happening over there! » I pointed in a random direction.

Then we turned and saw that there was actually a crowd over there. A lot of people were standing in a circle around something that was hidden by the mass of humans and pokémon.

«Ah, it's possible. We might as well check it out. » Martin went along with it, ignoring my profound disbelief.

«But I… I… urgh! »

Eventually, the curiosity got stronger and I ran up to catch up with him.

«What's happening? » I stood up on my toes to get a better look but that was a vain attempt.

Instead, it was Ma that helped me. The affectionate grass type lifted me up with her vines well over the line of the crowd's heads.

I got a perfect view of the scene and my heart went up my throat.

It was the lady from the restaurant. The same woman that was so frighteningly off before.

Now everyone could see how right I had been about her.

Nothing spoke creepiness and wrongness as well as convulsions on the ground and frantic attempts to break her pearl necklace with her bare hands. Even the medic that was trying to get her to calm down seemed disturbed by her attitude.

«Madam, let me help you. » He was almost begging her at this point, but she kept pushing him back.

«No! The time is near! The time is neaaaaaaaaaaaaar! » She repeated in a mad mantra.

As a perfect addition to the madness of the scene, a xatu appeared out of nowhere to her side and she apparently calmed down.

Then things got worse. Oh so much worse…

At first, the lady calmed down enough to have the medic sigh in relief. The only problem was that the very next second, the psychic type glowed blue and so did its apparent master.

Her body went limp and her eyes rolled back. When she talked, her voice was guttural and held a primal power that brought unease to us.

«It is too late, » she stated and I found myself covering my ears in fear. The sound pierced through that feeble barrier and echoed even more in my mind. «The blood of the innocent has killed mercy. The harmony will be sent into disarray by the mercy's disappearance. Already, the innocence is dying. All mercy has gone rogue. »

She fell.

Like a doll no longer supported, her body fell backward. With a loud thud, the limp woman hit the ground and stayed motionless.

An incredibly heavy silence answered her mad tirade.

«What's going on here? » I caught a glance of a police officer and the crowd started dispersing harmlessly. Worried whispers followed them around.

As for me, Ma gently deposited me on the ground and I attempted to smile at her with moderate success. Indulgent, she patted me head nicely and her eyes smiled better than I could at the moment.

«Thanks Ma. »

«Tangrowth, tan growth tan. » She shrugged, as if it was nothing.

As more people left, I soon realized that Martin was nowhere in sight.

«Huh? »

«Hey! » Someone called me and I turned. t was not Martin, that's for sure, but someone I knew nonetheless.

Damian.

Purple hair aside, he had changed a little. Well, nothing grandiose. Actually, he looked remarkably similar to his previous appearance. He still had those slightly torn up clothes, but... well…

He no longer sported them the same way. Before, they scream punk-ish rebel. Now they screamed warrior in training.

Darn, I hoped I could pull off that look!

If my rival was going around looking like that while rumors were flying about me being some sort of twisted Martin Jr., then I might as well find Giratina and ask me to take me straight to the Reverse World.

«Hey Damian. » I greeted him while trying not to be bitter.

«Pretty sweet tangrowth you've got there. I'm impressed. » He grinned nonchalantly.

«Err… that one belongs to Martin. » I corrected him with a grimace.

«Wait… you're still traveling with him? » He looked… confused to say the least.

«Well, yeah. It has some advantages, annoyances aside. »

I heard a low growl coming from behind me and I feared that Martin had come back. Then again, it was stupid to believe him capable of such a sound.

Actually, it was Ma. Her look was the same my mom used when she wanted me to be more polite.

I got the message.

«I guess so. It confirms what I heard at least. » He eyed the grass type a bit prudently, as if not sure how to react in her presence. When he turned to me, Damian still was not quite as confident as he usually seemed to be. «Anyway, I was looking for you. »

«Really? » For him to go out of his way to look for me, specifically after I had messed up before… well, that was intriguing.

«Yeah, I heard the rumor about Sunny Martin and his never before seen little brother. I figured that might be you, so yeah, I was curious. »

I groaned in exasperation yet again. Arceus, why did you decide to plant that idea in everyone's mind?

«You did not tell me that before. » His tone held a little accusation that made me tick.

«Because it's not true! Didn't the different family names tip you off? » I raised both arms toward the sky just to catch the attention of as many people as possible.

I should spread the rumor that Martin was an only child.

Was he? I did not even know, but in regards to his little brother complex, maybe not.

«Ah. » He scratched his head sheepishly. «There was that little incoherence in my deduction. »

«Err… sorry. » I calmed down, remembering the last time I had opened my big mouth without thinking.

«Nah, it's nothing. »

«Well, about that, but also about my earlier comment on gym battles and all… » I tried to make myself as little and apologetic as human capacities allowed.

«Oh, that? » He seemed a bit taken aback, as if he had forgotten about it entirely. «Depends. Do you have the Zephyr Badge? »

Technically, I didn't, so I answered negatively.

«In that case, yeah, you're forgiven. » He offered me a hand and I graciously accepted it, even if I was a bit lost about his thought process. It was a bit like how Martin's reactions were so alien at first.

«What about you? » I asked, to get the conversation going. «How many badges do you have? »

«Three. I beat Whitney just yesterday. I was just wandering around before I left for Ecruteak. »

«How was it? » I thought my question was natural enough, so I did not feel uneasy when his expression darkened.

«Hard. Freakishly hard. That woman is no pushover. » He almost growled, clearly making an effort not to rant or swear. «It took me three tries to beat her. »

«Ouch. » I tried to put as much compassion as I could in there.

«And if I hear her say Milk Drink one more time, I swear I will go nuts! » Gee, that sounded like a lot of bottled up frustration.

«Milk Drink? » I dumbly repeated, exactly two seconds after he had declared he'd go nuts if he heard it.

«Y-Yeah… » I clearly fought the urge to punch me and I took a step backward. Nice Damian… «It's a stupid move that heals her Miltank and lets it continue to rampage like crazy. »

«Wait… it… drinks… its own milk? » I struggled with the images in my mind and it simply led to a big nothing.

«Don't ask. Some images are better left unseen. » He turned around with a pained look. «My poor Jest had nightmares about it. »

«Jest? » I tilted my head in confusion again. «Oh, right, you haven't seen him yet. He's my flaaffy. Him, Regal and Rook – a pineco – are my power trio so far. »

«Ah, it sounds pretty awesome. » Except for the part that my rival had gotten a pokémon that had a big advantage over Levys.

«Yeah, it is. I won't let you beat me with just a gyarados. » He grinned smugly. «Speaking of which, has it evolved yet? »

«No, not yet. He should evolve soon though… Oh, and I, erm, «captured» another pokémon, a wooper. »

«Aren't you sly? You got a ground type to use against Regal while I got an electric type to use against Levys. Great minds think alike. » He seemed about to start laughing at the coincidence and I almost did as well. «It doesn't mean I will lose though. Even if you are training under Sunny Martin. »

That sounded _weird_, Martin was strong, but did that warrant such a boast?

«What do you mean? »

«I am already ahead of you and I'm training by myself. I don't need someone else's help.»

«Why would I want Martin's help for training? » I asked, ticked, even if it was true that I was relying on him somewhat often.

I must admit that I had not expected that such a simple and justified question could have such an effect. Damian effectively froze right in the pose he had (challenging, thought the wide eyes were ruining the effect now) and looked at me in shock.

«Okay, you have got to be pulling my leg now. »

«About what? » I was genuinely not following anymore.

«Come on, I was sure you were just playing with me back then! You're telling me you don't _actually_ know? You've been traveling with him without even knowing that? You said you wanted to become the champion! »

«Yeah… so? What does Martin have to do with defeating Sebastian White? »

This time, he almost bit his lips.

«Well, true enough. You don't need to beat Martin to get to the champion, but still… it would be a good way to know if you're ready. »

«Now, you're the one pulling my leg. I'm not an idiot. Sebastian White has been the champion for eight years now. Before that, it was Ethan Gold and the guy before was the dragon specialist Lance. Why are you talking like he was the last champion or something? » I had looked for the champion's team, I had looked at whom he had beaten before. If I wanted to be champion, I would have to use both his weakness and dodge the ones he was good at exploiting.

«Congrats, you know basic trivia. Now, question number two, what do you have to do to earn the right to challenge the champion? » He rolled his eyes even as he was giving off an overwhelming sensation of sarcasm.

«All eight gym leaders, » I replied evenly, even if he was getting on my nerves now.

«Wrong. » He crossed his arms, mimicking the host of that one talk show that always aired whenever I wanted to watch the Elite Four channel.

I gasped in shock. Arceus...

«Do you get it now? Martin retired about six years ago, but he was regularly talked about since the media considered him a rather juicy subject for the training population in general. He's a former member of the Elite Four and without contest the third strongest trainer in Johto. »

Holy crap!


	14. Well, appearances CAN be deceiving

**Well, appearances can be deceiving…**

Okay… Martin had once been part of the Elite Four…

What?

_Him_? Part of the _Elite Four_?

Sure he had been recognized by plenty of people, including total strangers, and he had pretty powerful pokémon and he seemed to know lots of things about how to raise a powerful team and…

Arceus, this was really happening…

I had to look at things rationally! If Martin was a former member of the Elite Four, then it meant that…

Did it mean anything?

«Huh… » I tilted my head. «So what? »

I almost snickered at how stunned Damian was.

«So what? _So what?_» He repeated, a bit hysterical. Ooh, that was a bit scary though. «He's monstrously strong! Didn't you get that? »

«Well, I already knew he had a freakishly powerful team, but I had not quite gotten how much exactly. I suppose that now I know. » I crossed my arm, a bit pensive. There had to be some grand implications about Martin being a veteran trainer of epic levels, but I could not see it. He could help with my training? He was already doing that, so this was not exactly a shocking development.

Damian was now clearly struggling to understand my logic. Ah, it was his turn now.

«I… I give up. How can you not react more than that? » He made a dropping motion, shaking his head left and right.

«Well, I'm happier about the fact that my first battle was even more rigged against me than I thought. Who can boast challenging the Elite Four on their very first pokémon battle? »

«You _what_? » I swear, his voice was getting higher and higher as the conversation went on. Hum… how far could I get him to reach if we continued for a few hours?

I could easily imagine him reaching supersonic levels, destroying every single window in an hundred meter radius, with me acting casual and relax in the background. Yeah, that would be awesome.

I had to fight a grin and instead answered politely.

«Levys, his first battle, it was against Linda, Martin's ledian. »

There was a bit of respect lighting up Damian's eyes as he glanced at my starter's pokéball. This time I grinned for sure.

Before either of us could say anything else, we were cut off by Martin's return.

«Hey champ! Sorry, I was making a little phone call and I- Oh, nice seeing you again, Damian. »

There it was again, that moment when my rival froze at the sight of Martin, but this time I knew why. Huh, I supposed it did make sense, considering he seemed to have a soft spot for power as well.

«Getting tongue tied again? Gee, I'm not that intimidating, am I? » Martin grinned and placed himself between us, passing an arm around each our neck. «I am just a poor laughable delivery man. »

«That you are. » I grinned maliciously, twice as much as usual because of his offended theatrical acts.

And Damian was still looking at me like I had two heads. Great…

«Then again, you did not tell me, » I declared, loud and clear, refusing to look at Martin.

«That I was leaving to make a phone call? No, I did not. » He looked sheepish enough, all smile and excuses.

«Not that. » I turned to him, my gaze sharp as a sharpedo's fangs. «You're not just a sorry excuse of a veteran trainer. »

«Ouch, that hurt. » He almost pouted and I did not even need to see Damian to know he was going catatonic. It's not as if I could not feel the convulsion and the spasm from where I was standing. «That was meaner than usual; did your usual luck act up again? »

Oh, he _didn't_!

«For your information, my luck has been pretty laid back lately and it's going to stay that way. » …I was just trying to provoke a meteor fall, weren't I? Next thing I knew, there was going to be an emergency news report saying the Goldenrod City's Radio Tower had been taken over by criminals airing bad soap opera and locking down the place. And it would have been my fault to boot because I could not keep my mouth shut.

«Whatever you say, lil' teddy. » He brought me closer to him, in a harder to escape grasp, while Damian was letting some of his tension get released in a nervous snicker.

Clearly, Martin was dodging the issue… or I was so mysterious and subtle we could keep going in circles like this for the rest of our existence. I was not quite that patient of a trainer anyway…

«You never told me you were part of the Elite Four. » There, blunt, brutally straight to the point, you could not get more direct than that.

Surprisingly, he did not even blink, nor did his smile slip a little.

«I did not. » He shrugged.

«Why? »

«I thought you knew. » He put on a face of innocence and goofiness, but I did not buy it (actually, I did buy the goofiness, but not the innocence).

«Liar. » I narrowed my eyes a little, getting annoyed. Not telling me was one thing; dancing around the question was another.

«You got me. » He admitted, still smiling. «I did not think it was important. »

«How? How can you possibly think that me not knowing you were part of the Elite Four is not important? I'm trying to become champion! » Now that I was talking to him, I did realize it bothered me a lot. Maybe less than I should have been though.

«Alright, how does that help you? »

I opened my mouth to reply something acidic (arbok powers, I had them), but nothing came out. Martin took that as a signal for him to pat my head and looked thoroughly amused.

«How about I give out some suggestions? Do you want info about the other Elite Four members? I haven't talked to them in years, except for Eric. The champion? What good would that be since I'm weaker than him? The functioning of the Elite Four's internal affairs? »

Great, he was going to use on me the same arguments I used on myself a few minutes ago. Urgh…

«Well, that last one sounds pretty useful. » I grunted with the intense desire to pout.

«Err… » He scratched the back of his head sheepishly again. «Forget that, I'm not supposed to talk about that one. »

«Don't put it in your choices then! » I lashed out a bit more harshly than I wanted to.

«Alright, alright, I'm sorry, oh cute little teddy bear. » He rolled his eyes, giving off a distinct impression of «why me?». Aside from, «you chose to», I had half a mind to say he deserved it.

Especially since the nicknames were really making Damian laugh at this point.

«Okay, I get it. It's not important. » I grumbled, crossing my arms stubbornly. «Though I would still like to know why you did not share it with me. You know, as trivia. »

«Ah, but it's a really boring period of my life. » He pouted.

He _pouted!_ And after I had restrained so hard not to!

Life was unfair.

«W-wait! » Damian promptly jumped in the conversation. «You, Sunny Martin, thinking that your years of fighting as part of the Elite Four were boring? But you're the living incarnation of happy-going, even when things go grim! »

Martin's smile grew a bit wider and his eyes shone with amusement.

«You were one of my fans, weren't you? »

Hey Levys, Damian just stole your scales' color and put it on his face. He's also stuttering and looking away awkwardly.

«That's cool, I always wanted to meet one of you. » Martin patted his head with indulgence and it was my turn to laugh.

Damian did glare but right now, with his purple hair being ruffled by Martin, it looked singularly unimpressive.

«Wow, you've sunk pretty low since the last time we met, Damian. First, you lost against me because of your failed so-called «mop of power», and then you act as a fanboy for Martin. Lame. » I grinned.

I just could not help it. I had this innate desire to just get the upper hand on him. Verbally or strength-wise, it was the same.

«Hey! » He pushed away Martin's hand and walked up to me, standing a mere inches away from my face. «First of all, Martin's _way_ stronger than you can possibly imagine. Second, I did not lose against you! I finished first! »

«You did not! The point was to clean, not to soak the floor with soap! » I narrowed my eyes threateningly, vaguely aware that I was willing to start a fight over who had best cleaned a pokémon center.

«Guys, guys. You're not going to fight like children, are you? » Curse you, Martin!

He just knew that I would never admit to being immature. Meaning that if I did get into a fight with Damian, I'd prove him right.

And that was not going to happen. Ever.

Similarly, Damian backed away. Being chastised by one of your idols probably did that to someone's attitude.

«Great, now that everyone is happy again, we can focus on other things. » He laughed it off.

«Yeah, like how you are going to repay that debt you have. » I crossed my arm and allowed a little smug smile to crawl up to my lips.

«A debt? » He tilted his head in confusion.

«Yeah, when you do something bad or something that's not nice, you have to work to get the other's forgiveness. » Oh, I was so full of crap. Seriously, what right did I have to criticize him? It _was_ satisfying. Was that good enough of a reason?

Clearly, Martin was not impressed. Then again, he was an unpredictable happy person.

«Sure, why not? » He shrugged, waiting for me to elaborate.

«You have to fight me. » I saw him look taken aback and I could not help being a little triumphant. «And Damian. » My rival turned to me with absolute shock and the sensation of triumph started feeling really great. «At the same time, seriously. »

«Are you out of your mind? » Damian looked at me with wide eyes. «What part of former Elite Four did you not understand? »

«Every part. » I huffed, in a nice bit of denial (or just temper tantrum, who knows?). «I want to see firsthand what you can really do, Martin. »

«Haven't you already seen it? » He put both his hands on his hips, frowning slightly with an incredulous smile up his cheeks.

«No. I've never seen you fight another trainer. »

«I'm the first trainer you've ever fought! » He held his arms wide with indignation.

«Linda escaped your control. » I pointed out and he visibly paused. «You gave just her one command and after that, she simply took the initiative to counterattack on her own. »

I could see him look more distant now, not that he was doing it on her purpose, but probably because he was trying to remember the exact details of our fight. For me, it was easy; it was my very first trainer battle. For him, it might have been nothing more than an afterthought.

Great, now I was annoyed again.

«Well, I suppose I can humor you with one battle. It's been a while since I was challenged by somebody anyway. »

«No kidding. » Damian muttered under his breath, though by the panicked look he sent around afterward, he probably hadn't meant to.

We cut him some slack and pretended not to have heard anything. I was way too distracted by the sly grin that was slowly appearing in Martin's features.

«However, lil' teddy, if I win, you have to do something for me. » He crouched to my level and locked eyes with me. That way, it even gave me the impression he could read my thoughts.

Retreat! Oh sweet love of Mew, _retreat_! The plan was backfiring in a spectacular manner and I certainly did not need to be more indebted to him than I already was!

«Oh no you don't. » He grabbed my arm before I had taken two steps and pulled me back. «You made a challenge and I accepted it. »

_Where could I buy a Dig TM? _

* * *

«Don't worry, guys. I won't be using my full strength on you, » Martin said from the other side of the battlefield.

It made one of my eye twitch. That much I could have begged for – if the embarrassment would not have killed me –, but somehow I had the feeling it would mean absolutely nothing in front of him.

Next to me, Damian was not looking particularly good either. He seemed extremely focused, if only a bit shaking (in fear or because of the excitement?).

I could understand him. After all, it was not every day you got to fight your idol on a public pokémon battlefield in the middle of your local park.

I had not even known about those before Martin led us here, but I though they were nice enough. There was exactly one field big enough for a tag team fight, so we did not have to wait. A dozen meters to my right was another field where two trainers were having a rather heated argument about something. They were screaming gibberish at this point.

Other than that, the place was very nice, very peaceful. It felt weird not to be nervous around a certain amount of trees. This being a park was probably the only reason I was not wary of my surroundings, though if there was another spinarak here, I would find a way to burn it down, _with my water pokémon!_

«Alright, let's make this as fair as possible! » Martin shouted again, getting both our complete attention. «Both of you will use your full team; I will only use one pokémon. »

That would mean so little when I had _no badge_ to my profile! I could bet that Bugsy's scither was more than enough to take my entire team by itself due to those _blades-instead-of-paws_ it had!

«Not convinced, champ? » He asked, prompting me to realize that I had grimaced. My poker face definitely needed work. «Alright, let's make the deal even sweeter to you. »

The next second, he had thrown out one pokéball and Linda appeared, hovering in a way that chilled my blood.

It reminded me of the way a beedrill flew.

I quickly shook my head to chase away the image and swore to concentrate on the soon-to-be match. The way Martin's ledian was flexing her little arms, I should really be worried.

«I won't give her any orders. »

«What? » Damian and I managed a perfectly synchronized cry of surprise. We turned to glance at the other and we promptly blushed.

«You heard me. Linda won't even attack you. » Now even Martin's pokémon was joining on the indignation and surprise (though the indignation was more hers than ours).

«Linda, absolute order: you dodge and you don't counterattack unless they force you to. » His tone was serious and _very_ professional. It made me shiver. I really did not need more confirmations that he knew what he was doing when it came to training.

Even worse, even if she did not look very happy, Linda did not protest in the slightest.

When he turned back to us, I had a really bad feeling about this.

«So, guys, you will have to earn the right to get me serious. » He seemed extremely nonchalant about this, which was worse than any amount boasting he could have made. Not even his smug little smirk could get a raise out of me when it appeared so much more of a fact than pure vanity. «If you can force Linda to break my order, I will give her commands. What do you say? »

I say we run while we can and ambush him later!

«What? » Damian blinked.

Ooops, I said that out loud.

«It's better than getting completely trashed in battle, no? » I tried a timid smile, but he did not buy it.

«Are you crazy? This is awesome! » He grinned, the idea of fighting Martin finally catching up to him.

Hum… we probably did not have the same definition of «awesome». For example, Levys was awesome. Winning a challenge was awesome. Losing to Martin was so far from awesome that it might as well have made the proverbial full circle.

…

Wrong analogy.

«No comment. » My lips were twisted into a bitter smile.

«Are you okay? » My rival asked me, concerned or worried. Most likely worried.

«It's nothing. I'm just looking forward to being indebted to Martin even more than before. » Me, bitter? What gave you that idea?

«Who said anything about losing? » His eyes narrowed toward Linda and he allowed a confident smirk to be shown on his face.

I almost let my jaw drop. Instead, I looked toward our adversary and reminded myself of the incident that old guy at the pension had mentioned involving an aggron and a snorlax in some way.

Let's just say my confidence returned quickly after that.

«I like the look in your eyes, guys. » Our future victim declared, with eyes good enough to discern the details of our expression from afar. «Well, let's not delay it any further. Begin. »

To my surprise, Damian and I moved simultaneously. We both released our pokémon at once.

On the field, Dora materialized next to a weird cone thing, which I assumed was Rook.

Almost immediately, my wooper tried to attack it and would have succeeded had I not dashed between them and taken the Water Gun to the face.

My wet bangs now falling in my eyes, I patiently explained to her that the pokémon she could see was her ally and that she was supposed to attack Linda instead. It got me another attack in the face for my trouble, but she got the message.

Again, she did not wait long to try to defeat her opponent in battle.

«Rook, don't fall behind! Pin Missile! » Damian ordered.

Our attacks flew over the field, headed directly for Linda. With the velocity of those moves and their wide range, I was sure she would not be able to dodge completely.

But I had been wrong before…

Just like he promised, Martin did not say a word. He did not need to either.

With a perfect agility, Linda flew over the stream of water produced by Dora and simply slapped away the few projectiles thrown by Damian's pokémon.

Oh dear. Five against one did not look like such great odds anymore.

«What were you saying about winning already? » I muttered under my breath, my gaze fixed on Linda.

«I said I was going to win. What did you think? » My partner replied evenly, even if I could tell he was a bit shaken.

«Here's an advice, guys: think of a strategy! » Martin very obviously restrained himself from walking to us just to be able to hold a normal conversation.

Thanks Martin, we really were thinking of just charging and hoping for the best. After all, that was what we had just done, right?

It was not really my fault though, Dora was already trying to get more results with a wide array of water and ground type moves being used in succession.

Rook was no slouch either, Damian had gotten back to ordering his bug type around and it was still launching a rather impressive number of needles Linda's way.

Unfortunately, she had taken to flying away and was evading each and every single one of our attacks.

Really, this was not working. Plus, my wooper seemed to be getting tired and that would spell our doom even more than it was already spelt.

«Dora, come back here, » I called and to my surprise, she obediently got closer to me.

I kneeled next to her and I ignored the wariness in her eyes. Instead, I whispered into her nonexistent ears about what I had in mind.

«Damian! Make sure Rook continues attacking Linda! »

There was a second of hesitation, but he nodded and focused his attention back to the battlefield.

Martin's pokémon was still dodging with ease, perhaps even more than before now that Dora had stopped firing multiple attacks at random.

Except that it was all part of our plan. Linda very narrowly dodged an incoming Water Gun when it aimed not for her but where she had planned to evade to. Rook's attack finally connected.

It did not do nearly as much as I had hoped…

But it was a good start. We had managed to hit her, it was a good start.

Linda's expression darkened, but she was brought back to order by Martin clearing his throat once.

Phew, we would not be slaughtered just yet.

«Continue like this, Dora! »

And continue she did. My pokémon attempted multiple times to snipe her down, but it was a vain effort. None of the attacks connected anymore, now that she knew what we were trying to do.

I frantically racked my brain for another idea because this really was just the basics of the basics and if that had worked, it would have proven that Damian had lied about Martin. My rival had switched to Poison Stings and Rapid Spins, but not with a lot of success either.

Of the few things I did not take into account was that Linda had been told to dodge the incoming attacks, not that she was forbidden from closing in on us.

Faster than before, she dove from her high position and hovered inches away from Dora, a smug smile on her face. With a frightening agility, she flew around her, sideways, always facing my pokémon. She gave me the impression that she sidestepped in midair when Dora's Water Gun missed her by a hairbreadth.

«Slam! » I ordered and she flailed her upper body horizontally.

To no avail.

Linda let out a mocking chuckle that turned Dora into a mass of boiling fury.

Against my panicked yelp, she shot her most powerful Water Gun yet. The water rushed faster and much more strongly than before. Only for Linda to fly over the stream of liquid.

Rook was not so lucky.

The attack hit him head on and he was sent flying outside of the field.

Our collective jaws dropped while Martin's ledian was sent into a fit of laugher.

Despite my best attempts, I could not blame her for such a blunder. She had defeated an opponent just by dodging, without instructions.

Oh, and my jaw that was already hanging pretty low was then pushed to the ground with sheer power of astonishment. Metaphorically.

Because, well, that was _not_ how I envisioned the first time one of my pokémon would _evolve_!

The process was not even that long. A minute at most.

The shock was really long lasting though. Instead of my cute little princess wooper, there was now a bigger water type that looked suspiciously like a quagsire.

Normally, I'd be worrying about the possibility that after evolving, she'd act like a queen bully. Right now, I was horrified. Oh, not at the fact that she evolved. Sure, it was surprising and disarming, but that was fine; she'd get stronger that way, right? No, my big worry was about _how_ she evolved. What really drove the point home was what Martin said next. I mean, after he recovered a little and stopped hiding behind a tree to laugh.

«Oh. My. God. Champ! I can't believe it! Your pokémon evolved through friendly fire! » There was this little tremor in his voice that made us realize how far from done he was with that issue.

Really, I could just my whole journey unfold before my eyes. It would not be glorious, not even close to epic. It would be one series of mishaps and suspiciously improbably events, one after the other until I broke my forehead hitting my face too strongly against a tree in despair.

I knew that I turned green.

«Hey! You just took out Rook! » Damian finally snapped out of his surprise.

«Ha, Martin, you should cower in fear in front of our strategy! You will never see the trap coming until it springs in place! » I proclaimed loud and clear, just to take my mind off my predicament.

«You what? » My partner hissed in anger.

«It's called «bluffing»! And sorry for the KO… » I whispered hastily.

«Sire? » A voice I could not recognize interrupted.

When I turned around, I saw my newly evolved Dora tilting her head at us in confusion. Weird how she was less freaked out by her evolution than I was.

«Hum… yes? » I grimaced, really not getting her question. She probably took it as an ironic reply, because her eyes narrowed, exactly like how she always did whenever she was pissed.

Yup, she was pissed alright. Her Water Gun, powered up after her evolution, knocked me off my feet and I fell on my back, painfully.

I let out a single grunt of pain, as Dora let out a cry of joy at her sudden accomplishment. Dear Arceus, she was just going to get worse from now on, wasn't she?

«Are you alright? » Damian asked, though his tone was still a little resentful.

«…I've been better. » I stood up, massaging the back of my head to ease up the pain.

I assessed the situation. I was not quite in pain (and I would not show it if I was, in fear that Martin would run up to me and call me a drama queen while unleashing something like a Rainbow Launcher of Happiness). Dora was now much stronger than before, I knew firsthand about that. Linda had stopped laughing and was waiting impatiently for the fight to continue. Martin was also waiting, eyes shining with amusement.

«Go Jest! »

Oh, and Damian had chosen his flaaffy for the next round too.

Perhaps Damian had a thing with purple and pink, because that was two of his pokémon so far. Would he be mad if I made the remark now?

Hum… let's not risk it.

«Jest, Thunderwave! » My rival called the next move without waiting.

The waves of electricity (how appropriate) danced around the field, with an abnormally large range for an attack. It would have made me cringe, if not for the fact that Dora was immune to it. She actually laughed as if it tickled when it reached her.

I was not so lucky. My left foot felt very numb now.

To top it off, Linda had even managed to dodge it.

«This is not working, Damian. » I commented, a bit sourly.

While I had turned to him, Dora had taken the initiative of shooting a much larger ball of mud than usual (which Martin later told me was actually Mud Bomb, a new move). I let her distract Linda with that for a minute, hoping very hard that she would not knock out Damian's second pokémon.

«I thought paralysis was a good start. » He grumbled, glancing every so often at the field, where Linda was faithfully dodging and only that.

«Yeah, on my leg, it's doing wonders, but we need a plan. »

«What can your Dora do except spit mud or water? » He asked, trying to follow Martin's pokémon with his eyes.

«Err… not much actually. » Or at least I was pretty sure those were the only attacks she ever used even when I was not giving her commands.

«So it's gonna be me and Jest then... » He bit his lips, trying to think of something.

My first bet was that he had gotten at least one good idea, because he suddenly broke into a sly grin.

«Okay, I got it, » he said. After a brief explanation, he pointed toward Martin's ledian and shouted. «Jest, Cotton Spore! »

His electric type's wool instantly grew in volume, in a rather weird display of fighting. I had to admit as to being skeptical about the usefulness of cotton in battle. Then again, Damian's confident expression should have tipped me off.

Jest violently shook its entire body, propelling the spores toward the center of the field where Linda had been hovering. Like many times before, she only used minimal movements to dodge the incoming spores, not noticing their true purpose.

«Use Dora now! » Damian turned to me and I almost jolted.

Crap, I had almost missed my cue!

«Water Gun! » I really hoped it worked.

Dora's reaction was much swifter than mine and her attack came out as a rocket.

It was then that I realized what Damian had done.

Linda certainly tried to dodge, but the spores made her movements too clumsy and she was suddenly hit by Dora's attack.

Without missing a beat, Damian stepped forward. «Thundershock! »

That was when I realized the difference between the two of us. That kind of swift reactions and ingenious tactics were what made a good trainer and Damian's three badges spoke for themselves here.

The lightning rode on Dora's Water Gun and a combination that would have been impossible worked like a charm. The electricity did not bother Dora in the least, but it certainly hurt Linda.

The bug type let out a startled cry when the combo hit her.

The very next second, we were blinded by a flash of light.

Rubbing our eyes painfully, it took us a few instants to recover a good sight.

Linda was hovering threateningly over the field, covered in water. Not for long probably though, her wings were moving much faster than before.

«Great job guys! » Martin congratulated us sincerely. «You got her to counterattack. That's a good accomplishment for young trainers like you. »

Well, Damian did most of the work there. Still, it did not prevent me from blushing at the compliment.

«You do realize what this means, right? » In his eyes glittered a dangerous light that reminded us of a hungry predator.

Oh boy…

«Alright, Linda, boxer mode, please. » He called, finally taking part in the battle.

It should have looked ridiculous. Really. It _should_ have. It was not.

Linda raised all four of her fists at the level of her chest and took on the stance of an experienced human fighter.

«You know, lots of challengers looked down on me because I used Linda as part of my team in the Elite Four. » Damian imperceptibly nodded, confirming his status as a fanboy forever in my heart. I looked forward to the mocking. «I told them that it was true Linda's specialty is not heavy hits, but that they ought to take her seriously. She's a flying machamp. »

As discreetly as possible, I shot a look at our surrounding. The other fights were over and, instead of starting the next ones, quite a few older trainers had chosen to watch us after they had recognized Martin.

«Are you two ready? » He asked, something like a childish joy in his voice.

«You bet! » I replied, mostly out of bravado.

No way was I looking lame if people were watching. I had a crumbling reputation to preserve!

«Good. Linda, just at their feet, Mach Punch. »

We never saw it coming. We never felt it coming.

There had been a blur, followed by powerful hits on the ground that carved two small craters right in front of Linda and Jest. Then the cloud of dust blocked our vision for a minute, just like Falkner's Sand-Attack had done before.

When it cleared up, our pokémon were just as shocked as we were. Shaking, they eyed the craters with a heavy apprehension.

«I told you I'd get at least a little bit serious if you could force me to. » Martin smiled contently, presumably amused by our reaction. «Well, you can give up at any time; I wouldn't bear any judgment toward that. It would even be the smart choice… though you ought to remember, champ, that you'd owe me one if you lose. »

«Damian, we're winning this fight. » I announced solemnly, my visage stretched with anger, rage and pain. He took a step away from me before saying anything else.

«You have an idea? »

«As a matter of fact, I do. » I narrowed my eyes, glaring at Linda before suddenly pointing at the sky. «Dora, Water Gun, max power! »

It arched just like I thought it would, but it rose higher than I expected. Just what I needed.

«Quick, Damian! » I called, hoping that he'd get where I was coming.

«Jest! Thunderwave! »

I grinned as the electricity once more rode my pokémon's attack, except that this time, it was not aimed in one shot. Rather, it turned into the largest possible area-covering attack we could make.

«Ooooooh, raining electricity! I like it! » Martin grinned, as the jet of water started dividing into droplets and fell on the field. «Nice try! » He said, just before adding «Light Screen! ».

Linda faced the rain and from each of her fist came a light that joined the others, creating a square that blocked absolutely every drop that should have hit her.

«You two don't make a bad combo, you know that? » He commented, making us both glance at our rival and blush.

Simultaneously, we pointed at Linda and called for an attack.

«Mach Punch, 4. » Martin all but listed, with an enervating calm.

Our attacks exploded into the air and our pokémon were painfully thrown back.

I quickly rushed to Dora's side and found out she was unconscious. With a pang of guilt in my chest, I returned her.

Next I had to call out Levys.

I truly hesitated with that one. It was not just about winning. Levys was stubborn and wanted to bring me victory; he wanted to prove himself useful to me. I knew; I had seen it and I could only come to that conclusion whenever I thought of Levys' past.

By some bizarre circumstances, I had saved his life from starvation and possibly being eaten. Even then, I did not want to let him get hurt... Though if I managed to make him evolve…

A moment later, Levys was eagerly swimming in his aquarium, waiting for my next command.

Regal was doing the same, even if he was glancing at the weird attire we had to use to allow Levys to fight.

He had grown, which was normal after an evolution. Regal was looking also quite fierce, following the same transformation as his trainer.

Even if said trainer was sweating had the idea of a third round against Linda… just like I was.

She was scary. There, I thought it. Linda was a scary little bugger!

«Okay, the first move will be yours. » Martin graciously invited us to act with a sign.

Except I really was not sure about what kind of strategy I could think of. Levys could only use physical moves!

«Regal, Fury Attack! »

His pokémon charged recklessly and I realized that he had just as many ideas as I had, approximately none.

«Levys, Tail Slap! » I called, thinking that at least a combined attack had more chances of being successful.

«Linda, Reflect. » Well, there goes the slim chance.

Eerily similar to before, Linda created another shield, this one slightly more orange. It proved just as effective as her previous one though.

«Alright, now counter with a little Comet Punch. » He decided to let us go easy for our first move.

«Counter it with Tackle! » I shouted with the mad hope that it would do something.

Levys, in midair, span just enough to head-butt the incoming punch from Linda, but was sent flying for his trouble.

«Poison Sting, Regal! » Damian used the opportunity to take her by surprise.

Without letting Martin the time to react, Linda blew them all away with a Fire Punch.

Something clicked in my head. I knew there was one thing I could try before giving up. If that one trick did nothing, then there were no way we could win it.

«Ready, Levys? » I asked, looking at my magikarp, that had jumped back in his tank with a Splash.

«Karp, » he answered, perfectly confident.

«Damian, call back Regal. » I whispered.

He did as I said, for a lack of better ideas.

«What are you guys planning now? » Martin tilted his head questioningly, frowning at the sudden change of «strategy».

«Why don't we finish it all in one move, Martin? The same one that beat Levys the last time! We'll show you how far we've come! » I took on my best arrogant pose and gestured at Linda to come.

«As you wish. » He shrugged, ignoring Damian's anxiety and my fake mask of arrogance. «Linda, fire and thunder. Both at once, okay? »

I almost sighed in relief when he took my bait. Linda's fists were immediately lightened by flames on her left and electric currents on her right. Without losing time, she dove at us, letting out a high pitched war cry.

«Almost, Levys… » I whispered, swallowing loudly.

The bug type had almost reached our level, by this was not enough. It had to be at a distance that she could not dodge.

Almost there…

Regal was starting to back away in face of the winged fury.

Almost…

Levys' muscles were all tensed, ready for actions.

«Now! » I screamed. «Splash! » «

What? » Damian blinked.

Levys span, hitting the surface with his tail and throwing water into the air…

Right toward a surprised Linda…

Who barely saw the liquid reach the electricity on her right fists and create a spark that raced to the flames on her lefts'. Nor did she have the time to gasp as it ignited.

I shielded my eyes away from the explosion, right as I was thrown backward by the blast.

The silence that followed exerted a powerful pressure on me.

The crowd of trainers from earlier seemed bigger. The rumor had spread that Martin was fighting, I guess. It was pretty rare to meet an Elite Four outside of the Victory Road, typically. Even an ex-member was quite the sight to behold.

Except that now, there were some words going around asking who we were, Damian and I.

I could not ponder much on it though, as from the dust of the explosion had jumped a crying Martin. He apparently was crazier than usual and had decided that his last act before mental institution was to strangle me under the disguise of a bear hug.

«Champ! That was so cool! » He praised me, not listening at my protests for even a second. «I'm prouuuuud of you! »

«…can't… breath… » I deliberately tried to sound as weak as possible, in a futile attempt to get him to let go.

«You'll take care of that later, Sir Drama. » He chastised me and put me in a headlock.

«Hum… » Damian started and stopped, disturbed by the sight but having no idea how to break it down to his «hero».

«Oh right, your ideas were great too, Damian. » Martin gave him a thumbs up... without letting go of me.

«…Err… The battle… » He pointed out at the clouds of smoke and dust.

«Oh, that? Sorry, Linda snapped. » He apologized, looking very sheepish.

Indeed, soon, it became apparent that other than a few scratches, she was in perfect health. Our starters on the other hand…

«Hehe… let's get back to the pokémon center, okay? » Martin called out Three and we were pulled away from the park.

* * *

Alright, I had lost. Fair and square. I could not make many objections when it was five against one in a tag battle.

Strangely, I was not very affected by this particular loss. It may have come from the fact that it was against Martin, that I was expecting to lose from the very start or simply because, loss aside, I was kind of proud of how it had unfolded.

Sure, the part where Dora had taken out Rook was bad, but other than that…

At least Damian did not hold it against us.

«Is everything to your liking? » A waiter stopped at our table, despite looking a bit busy, to ask about our meals.

When he received a triple affirmative, he smiled and left rapidly.

Maybe that really good pizza was the reason my moral was not down the drain. If so, I was a bit more food driven than I would have liked.

«Ah, nothing quite like pizza to end the day after a challenging battle. » Martin stretched in his seat, a content grin on his face.

Damian and I exchanged a look at the «challenging» part.

«That was probably my favorite part until my sponsor went bankrupt. » He sighed sadly.

«You had a sponsor? » I raised an eyebrow.

«Well, an unofficial one, seeing as I was working for the government. Let's just say that I knew the cook of that one restaurant really well. Plus, it's really easy to sneak away five minutes with a psychic type. » He allowed himself to look like a conspiracy master, as he told us about that one time his entrance almost single handedly ruined a whole serving of pizza.

There were many laughs from us (yes, even from my part), because there was just something unbelievable about the idea the trainer that completely outmatched us in such a mundane situation

Of the three of us, Damian was the one that had the best time by far. He looked _really_ happy.

For a second, it made me very glad that Martin was the kind of person he was. Annoying, yes, plenty, overwhelmingly so, but also funny and easy to talk to. For someone of his level, I might have expected an attitude that was more dignified and impressive, though I now realized it would have been a lot less fun.

«Hey, champ, what are you spacing for? » He grabbed me and put me on his shoulder, allowing me to perform my world famous imitation of a bag of veggie.

Okay, not _always_ funny, but still…

I snorted. Actually, it was pretty funny to see the horrified look of the manager of the restaurant. Why care about your reputation when you were hanging out with a guy that eclipsed everything you could do anyway?

To make up for that stunt, Martin left quite the sizeable tip and dragged us outside.

It was getting dark. Actually, at this time of the day, we would have put out the tent or just our backpacks in order to prepare for the night. In the city though, the artificial lights made up for that.

We walked down the street, talking about many things, mostly insignificants, except when Damian and I argued about who would be the next champion. _That _was very important.

We were in the middle of the listing of the many qualities of our respective starters when we walked passed an electronic shop displaying a few televisions. On all of them, we could see the evening news. That in itself was not extraordinary. What was more unexpected was the video playing in a corner of the screen.

«…And for today's gossip chronicles… » A young journalist almost giggled before she continued. «It is much more crunchy then yesterday's. All day long there were rumors of ex-Elite Four member Martin Slyder's sighting, but we received a more definite proof of his presence this afternoon. »

The image switched to what was obviously an amateur filming Martin… in the park… giving Linda the order to use Mach Punch.

«As you can see, » her voice seemed doubled over the images, «for the first time in years, Sunny Martin has apparently answered a challenge and shown that he has not lost his touch. »

There, the explosion caused by Levys' Splash attack… Which meant that… The camera showed Martin rushing to me and hugging me.

«Even more interesting, a rumor that surfaced today concerns the apparent existence of Martin's never-seen-before little brother. If we can believe this scene, perhaps there is some truth behind it… »

I did not even listen to the rest of it. I just let out a long groan of exasperation and decided to curl up on the floor.

«Oops, I forgot about this whole «public figure» stick… » Martin sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Oh well, was it too late to get that technical machine for Dig?


	15. When you screw up, please screw up well

**When you screw up, screw up well**

«Gooooooooooooood morning Johto! » My true nemesis' voice echoed in our pokémon center room.

«Huuuhh… what's happening? » My lesser enemy mumbled sleepily.

«It's epic breakfast time! » Martin stood up, with an energy I would not have ever dreamed about having myself. No, just no.

I hid under my blankets, head buried into my pillow. There was only so much I was willing to take. Risking my life, catching a pokémon entirely by accident, _putting up with Martin_, those were harsh, but possible. However, waking up early was far beyond my scope of tolerance.

«Come on, champ! It's a glorious day to be training. » He shook my bed vigorously, earning a cry of indignation from me and louds bangs on the wall.

«Here's Johto's answer! Shut up! Some of us are sleeping! » A voice said from beyond our room.

«Doesn't sound like that to me, » he whispered, snickering.

Oh boy, he was in a great shape, wasn't he?

The day promised to be long (fun not necessarily included).

As if to prove my point, he grabbed the bed sheets and threw them outside the window, which was not only stupid but stunning enough to get Damian's to look at the surreal scene with round eyes.

In response to that, I took the only weapon at my disposition, my pillow, and hurled it across the air with such strength that it left a mark on the wall (temporary dirt marks counted).

«Whoa, nice throw, lil' teddy. Keep practicing and you might hit a moving target one day. » Martin allegedly pointed out, in an exasperating good mood.

«Okay, what's with you today? » I snapped, redressing and growling at the infuriating delivery man.

«Do you understand why I call him a teddy bear, Damian? » Martin pointed at me, ignoring the apex of my anger.

I deflated. There… there was just no point in getting angry with _him_. It was like he had a mysterious hole in his brain that rendered him unable to understand me.

«Why the long sigh? » Martin sat next to me, slightly less hyper.

I just lied down without answering, but the lack of everything that made my bed so comfortable was the same as being stabbed in the heart.

«Alright, Martin. Explain. Now, » I demanded, because that one game was getting on my nerves.

«It's obvious, isn't it? » He shrugged, a smug grin on his face.

«You owe me a favor because of yesterday and I intend to use it today. »

That's approximately the moment I ran for the bathroom to hide (and take a shower while hogging all the hot water for myself). I no longer cared about the blankets gone through the window or the ridiculous early wake-up call. The only thing on my mind was to delay, if only for a second, whatever horrors he had in store for me.

* * *

«Let me get this straight. You are saying that you want _me_ to take _your_place in an interview scheduled this morning? » I had trouble speaking with such a big knot in my throat. Thank Arceus I had not yet eaten breakfast. I might have been sick otherwise.

«Pretty much. My boss would not mind the publicity, but I certainly would. » He looked sheepish, with an awkward half-smile that fell just short of being pitiable.

«But Martin, what about your fans? » Damian protested, before hastily covering his mouth with his hand.

Yeah… that image of warrior he was going for had been all but shattered at this point. Actually, disintegrated would be the best way to describe that poor image's fate.

«Yeah, Martin, what about your fan? » I repeated, deliberately putting in too much horror in my voice just to bug him off.

«Think of the ones wearing Captain Ocean's limited edition pajama! » Damian put both hands on his heart, in an attempt to be dramatic that fell flat because of the sound of his teeth being grinded together.

Apparently able to predict with great precision where this one was heading, Martin leaned back in his seat, not willing to get caught in the crossfire.

He was right, as about half the early birds in the dining room with us were casting cautious glances in our direction.

«What about the ones having bright purple hair? You can't let them down! » My own interpretation would have been perfect if not my twitching eyes and my angry grimace.

«What of the pet growlithes that follow you everywhere? They're the closest to you! » He already stood up, glaring me down.

«Oh, it is on! » I yelled, jumping on Damian.

It degenerated into us brawling and rolling on the floor, trying to make the other pay for his insults.

In the middle of the ensuing chaos, Martin was comfortably enjoying the show, a cup of milk in one hand and a copy of this morning's newspaper in the other.

«This is why I love kids, » he stated with a grin.

* * *

It all ended when we really started throwing punches. The very moment we tried, we were psychically thrown apart in opposite directions and we landed respectively on a couch and on a sleeping snorlax (I had to applaud Three's aim for that one, it was a suitable pillow).

It almost started again when Martin lead me to the Radio Tower and pushed me inside. Damian's indignation was calmed when Martin promised to spend the rest of the morning with him and give him some tips on training.

I ignored the burning sensation in my stomach when they left me all alone in the building. I completely did…

Then again, it was replaced by a lot of stress when I had to walk up to the receptionist and explained the situation to her. She made no comment other than to guide me to a room where Jeannette Boudreau (a foreign lady that had become one of the most listened radio hosts in Johto in the space of a few years) was waiting.

True, there was a certain flavor to her office, with all that flaming red, but really it came mostly out of her person. Unfortunately…

Well, I told her why I was there.

That poor woman. The look of distress on her face was the most heart wrenching sight I had been given to see in a few days. Really, the horror of seeing her schedule of the day being brutally changed at the last second by Martin's whim was something I could understand well.

In fact, I would be offering her words of comfort right now if not for the fact that she was eying _me_ with horror. That kind of shot down any possible attempt of being nice to her. Half of me was already voting for ruining the interview somehow, but the problem was it would no doubt be bad for me afterward too…

Hum… if I was a really evil person, how would I get revenge on someone that annoyed me? True, I could always try one of Martin's love wrestle moves, but there was the big impracticality of doing it on someone much bigger than myself. Plus, I'd never sink as low that anyway.

«Could you repeat that? » She asked, with the very obvious hope that it was a joke.

«Martin said that he won't show up for whatever interview you had planned with him, » I repeated dutifully, allowing myself to feel the faintest of satisfaction at seeing her deflate.

Yes, if I ever became evil, it would be for this sort of petty things.

«_Merde_… » she bit her lips, scrambling to her feet and taking a few steps back and forth. «I knew there was something wrong when the director said: «Good news everyone, we've secured an interview with Sunny! ». How could he not have seen this coming? And of course he's going to blame me for his blunder… » She… she sounded genuinely worried.

My satisfaction quickly disappeared and was even replaced by some guilt. Any idea of treating this like a joke was forgotten in my mind. Actually, it was long gone from the corners of my brain by the time I heard her mumble something about being fired. The desire to comfort her finally overwhelmed me.

«He… he asked me to replace him, » I blurted out, blushing from head to toes.

«That's… » She blinked, confused. «Who are you? »

I almost fell face first into the floor at that. So much for chivalry.

Scratching the back of my head with embarrassment, I tried not to look at her in the eyes as I spoke.

«I'm… Martin's little brother… » GAH! I shall never utter those words out loud again! They hurt!

«What? » She opened her mouth to say more, but ultimately failed. All in all, she had her expression comically locked into that of a gaping magikarp.

«Y-you know… the rumor going on… that Martin has a little brother an' all…»

I shifted from one foot to another under the suddenly scanning gaze she sent my way. It felt very much like those x-rays machine used to see through your luggage before embarking on a ferry.

«And you are saying you are the boy referred to by that, » she said, with just the right amount of suspicion. It was credible, but I had my own doubts about her reserve. She had sounded desperate before. It was mostly why I had agreed to go along with Martin's instruction.

«…Yeah… »

Why could I not find it in me to be excited about an interview with a famous reporter on the radio?

Oh right, because it was bound to end in a total disaster. How many times did it occur to me so far?

«Wait here please, » she asked, leaving the room in a storm, muttering some words in a language that certainly was not English.

The only sound in the office was the occasional creaking noise made by the chair I was sitting on or the clock. Just waiting here alone made my nerves grow thin.

When she finally came back, Jeannette was still frowning, but she also seemed a bit more relaxed.

«Alright, we don't have much of a choice anyway, so we'll do the interview with you. » She sat down behind her office, half resigned. «First, we will need to call your parents and ask for their permission to have an interview with you. »

I looked at the phone she was holding in my direction with a small hinge of hesitation. I quickly shot a look at the clock on the wall before shaking my head.

«She's already gone to work at this time of the day and they refuse private call unless it's a medical emergency, » I explained.

She sighed.

«Very well. In that case, we will not be able to give out your name to our listeners. We will talk about you, but we won't give out any details as to your identity. » She started writing down some sort of notes as she talked without looking at me.

«Okay. »

I was fine with that. I was not particularly keen on giving out an interview on the radio anyway. If at least I was sure that I could not be identified later on, then I could be a little less nervous.

«Since the interview will start in a little less than an hour, we will just have a quick overview of the questions I will ask and we will see what interesting facts we can get out of this. »

I nodded, trying not to let it show how much of a jellified mess my insides were slowly turning into.

* * *

«Good morning Johto! This is Jeannette Boudreau for your favorite morning show: Before the doduo's song! »

Oh Arceus… oh sweet merciful Arceus…

This was really happening. I was really sitting down at a table with earphones on my head and staring at a micro and a peppy radio show host.

The ironic part was that I had once dreamed of giving out a similar interview. Everything was exactly as I imagined it, except for the small detail that in that dream, I was the champion, not a newbie without any badges!

«Today, we're talking to someone whom you probably haven't heard about before, or, at the very least, have never seen more than a few seconds. » Jeannette turned to me, all smile and cheerfulness and winked. «Sunny Martin's little brother. In the flesh, right before my very eyes, » she announced and I saw the producer behind a glass window making a gesture for me to talk.

«H-hi Mrs. Boudreau, » I greeted her timidly.

«Oh, call me Jeannette, you lady charmer, » she waved her hand down with a smile.

«O...kay… » I would have brutally hit myself here and there had it not been for the expensive piece of equipment resting on my head.

«Don't be nervous. I swear I don't bite. »

I chuckled awkwardly at that. This friendly aunt attitude had something unsettling about it. It gave a «Martin » vibe.

«I'm sure our audiences first and most important question is: are you really related to Sunny Martin by blood? » Her eyes flashed with interest, as a lot of trainers' did or would if they were listening to us right now.

«Not by blood, no… » I answered with a tight jaw. Why was it so hard to admit it now? It… it felt wrong to deny something like that… «Well, there you have it! » Mrs. Boudreau exclaimed loudly, with a clap of her hands. «For those of you skeptical souls that dutifully reminded your surroundings of Martin's upbringing in Maria's Sanctuary, you have been proven half right. »

I paled.

Maria's Sanctuary… wasn't that an orphanage?

«However, our guest here has not denied the rumor of him being Martin's little brother. Isn't that right? »

Her peppy act seemed so out of place when faced with the revelation of Martin's background. That… how much had he kept hidden from me? How much of him did I really know?

A little tap on my hand brought me back from my thoughts. The cheerful host was gently reminding me of the place I was in.

«Right. It's a bit complicated… » Wow, understatement. «… and private…» I flushed at some of the memories that came back to me. « …but, yeah. I consider him as a sort of annoying big brother, just like he keeps calling me his little brother. »

«It certainly is nice to hear about such bonds being created nowadays, » she commented, with an absolute sincerity that made me blush. «Why don't you tell us about the first time you met Martin? »

Was it the truth in her features or perhaps her encouraging tone? I could not tell but it started to make me feel more at ease.

«I certainly can, » I said with a small laugh. «You see, it was the day before the distribution of the traditional Johto starters. I had gotten up a bit early, so I could make it to my bus, but there was a small problem with my schedule and I almost missed the bus. »

«Oh my, preparedness sure comes in handy, » she joked and I felt my cheeks heat up slightly.

«It does. » I looked the other way, before getting a cue to keep my face in front of the mic. «Well, the point is: there were no places left for me to sit in, except next to that weird smiling adult that waved at me. »

We exchanged a meaningful look and she let herself expressed a sly grin.

«Martin, » she stated. «Yeah, so here I was, on the way to get my starter, sitting next to Martin, when he casually remarked that I had no shoes on, » I continued my story, purposefully letting out the part of me not wearing a shirt.

«Oh no, » Mrs. Boudreau held a hand to hide her smile, but the words were playful rather than mocking.

«That's what I thought. How can I travel Johto by foot without shoes? Well, I did not really have the time to solve that dilemma, because the guy next to me handed me a pair of new ones for free! Can you imagine that? » I laughed, realizing how stretched it must have sounded to someone being told about it secondhand.

«I would not put it past Sunny Martin's character. He was also a rather nice fellow. » For a second, she seemed lost in a past memory, with she was very fond of. It lasted only an instant, then she returned to our interview. «Are those the shoes you're wearing right now? » She asked, looking down to my feet.

«Yeah, those are the ones. » I grinned.

«I like them; they fit you, my boy. » Her compliment finished killing any stress I might have had. «Now, on another topic, you mentioned the distribution of the traditional Johto starters, chikorita, cyndaquil and totodile. The training government has, as you are most certainly aware of, decided to stop handing them as a way to reduce the number of reckless trainers that might get injured. Do you have any comment on that? »

I had to take a deep breath before answering. «I think it was wrong. » I managed to keep my anger to myself. It was worthy of a medal for how much emotions I had to repress at that moment.

«Elaborate, please. » She leaned in, looking pensive.

«Well, the starters were made to be easy to train for new trainers like me. By stopping the distribution altogether, it will not prevent kids that really wants to get a pokémon to acquire one somehow. » It had not stopped me, although I had almost given up on the spot. «And _those_will not be as easy to train as the starters they should have been given. They want to protect us, that's fine, but they are not going at it the right way. »

«I certainly know that quite a few trainers outside these walls agree with you. » She nodded, glancing at her notes. «In fact, I believe some sort of protest is going to be held in front of the Town's Hall this afternoon. What would you say to them? »

«Go for it. » A burning determination burned inside me as I spoke and I raised a thumb up, before realizing that only Mrs. Boudreau could really see it.

«We all hope that a peaceful agreement will be reached between our youth and our leaders, » she stated, with a little less conviction than before, as if she was following a carefully repeated line. It probably was just that, in retrospect.

«Yeah… of course. I don't want anyone to get hurt, » I added a little awkwardly. She nodded and winked with approval.

«Very well, let's get on with another topic, shall we? We've talked a bit about your relationship with Martin, but what about you as a trainer. There has been a video showing you, another trainer and Martin battling in the park, yesterday. Is this all accurate? »

«Yes. »

«Good. » She seemed happy about it. «It seems that it was a tag battle against Martin's ledian. On your side, there were a nidorino and a magikarp. Which one was yours? »

«The magikarp. He's called Levys. » I pointed out with a fond smile… and I dropped the little bomb line. «He's my starter. »

She was openly disorientated for a second there.

«Y-your first pokémon is a magikarp? »

For once, I was not annoyed at the display of surprise. Actually, I felt more than a hint of pride when I announced it. They could think I was stupid or overconfident; they still did not try what I was doing.

«Yeah, I've recently got a wooper that evolved, but, yes, I started with just a magikarp. » I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat, smug.

«Is that not a little bit… hard? » She asked, apparently worried.

«It can be, at times, but it does not matter. Levys is ten percent magikarp and one hundred percent awesome! » I stood up, raising a fist in the air, before remembering where I was.

Fortunately, my enthusiasm was only met by an indulgent smile and a fond look from Mrs. Boudreau.

«Now that is the kind of bond that makes the great trainers, » she commented.

And the interview went on smoothly after that. Not even one small meteor crashed into the Radio Tower, as I had feared.

* * *

I was reunited with Martin around the time we usually stopped for lunch. How did I know? My stomach was killing me.

«Champ! How did you manage that? » Martin was eying me with a strange mix of apprehension and respect.

«Huh… what? » I frowned, confused.

Damian was the one that answered. He took out a small phone and showed me a website, something of a pokémon enthusiast forum. There were a least three different persons saying something among the lines of «X is 10% magikarp and 100% AWESOME! ».

«Someone quoted you and is turning it into a Pokénet meme. » My rival was seemingly troubled by the concept, as I was.

«You're kidding me. »

It was a small hope, but there was a slight possibility that Martin and Damian had decided to do a practical joke and had spent their time together on the fabrication of a website and filled it with fake posts. The fact that they simultaneously nodded with sorrow made me grimace.

«How did you do it, champ? I'm genuinely impressed. Even I can't provoke this kind of reaction so fast. » Oh, the sorrow was that I had surpassed him in terms of… quotability?

Not quite the type of accomplishment I was looking for… Oh, but it was kind of cool too, I guess?

«Err… it's a natural talent… I think. »

«You even got the nickname Magikarp Boy, » Damian commented with a smirk, deadpan. «Congratulation, I feel jealous. »

I seethed with fury. At that point, he had to suffer for his insolence. How dare he mock the Magikarp Boy, future champion of Johto?

«LEVYS! » I screamed as I threw his pokéball high in the air. «Drop down the hammer of justice on this insolent fool! »

Oh yeah, just imagining Damian being smacked in the face made me feel a lot better, not to mention ranting like that was liberating. There was just this one detail I forgot. Levys had no idea what it was supposed to mean.

So… he fell flat on the ground, hopping vertically until I clarified things.

«Karp? » He made that interrogative sound as I glared at both Damian and Martin.

«Hum, here's an advice, cub: work some sort of code with Levys about your little power trips. Otherwise it may fall flat on the ground, » Martin adopted a very serious (and fake) tone, trying not to mock me too senselessly.

Damian was a lot less subtle. He fell on his knees, his breath cut off by the laugher.

I sighed through my raging blush and looked at Levys sadly. «It means slap them in the face until they cry for help, » I dutifully explained and Levys was fast to comply.

The first hit cut Damian short. The second made him growl. The third left him massaging the back of his head. The fourth was just there because it amused me.

I high fived Levys, satisfied with the punishment. Even better, Martin stopped Damian before he could free one of his pokémon and start the cycle all over again.

«Okaaaaay, you little boys need to blow some steam off and use your energy elsewhere. » He lifted Damian, like a bag of sand and held him in the air until he stopped swearing he'd get back at me for this.

I had to admit; from this perspective, Martin's actions were really funny.

«I would offer ice cream, but I have a feeling that it won't be quite enough to appease you two. There's got to be a way to defuse the situation, but I don't see it. » He lightly tapped his chin, Damian's hair and my forehead.

«I've got it. I'll leave, » Damian broke free and fell, in a surprisingly dignified manner.

«Damian… » I whispered, embarrassed that I had done it twice in a row. «I was planning on leaving soon, I've already got the badge I was looking for in this town, so I should get going. » He dusted off his clothes, shrugging it off as if it was nothing of importance.

Five minutes of protests and insistence that it was planned anyway, that's approximately what it took him to leave us to our stunned silence.

Okay, I had to admit, I felt horrible for driving him off like that a second time. Really, there was something wrong with me.

«Err… that was... unexpected. » Martin scratched the back of his head, frowning.

«Ye-yeah… »

Silence.

There was that long awkward moment in which neither of us spoke, waiting for the other to initiate the conversation again.

«…Have you ever met Jeannette Boudreau? » I asked, going for the first idea that went through my head.

«Oh, yes. » He smiled at the memory, a bit like she herself had done in the studio. «I did. In fact, I think I was her first serious interview since she had immigrated to Johto. It was after I had been selected as a member of the Elite Four. »

«You like her? » Yeesh, I was already grasping at straws to keep the conversation going.

Except that Martin suddenly blushed and stammered.

«W-what makes you say that, cub? » He backed away. _He freaking backed away!_

Something was not right here. Perhaps it would be wise to fish for more information on that.

«Well, she looked a bit dreamy while saying you were a nice guy. » I pretended to be nonchalant by staring at my nails. No need to say that this was very convincing. About as much as what he said next.

«That's very surprising. We barely know each other, » he assured me, waving his hands in front of himself wildly.

«You would tell me, wouldn't you? » I looked up at him with growlithe eyes, living incarnation of innocence.

«Of course I would tell you if I used to have a crush on her! » Martin said very quickly, a blush decorating his cheeks.

«I never said anything about a crush. » I feigned confusion, a finger up to my lower lips.

«Ah. » Wooooh, panic mode now. I liked it. It was truly a nice sound, that very fake laugh that tried to cover up a major screw up. «No, no you did not. That was just a mistake I made. »

So _that_'s what it was like to hold absolute power over somebody. Yup, there was no doubt that petty evil felt good.

«Right, a total mistake…» I did my best to sound pensive, just to keep the panic going on a little longer. «There is just no way that you could have had a crush on Jeannette Boudreau before, right? Just like you did not ask me to go here in your place so you would not have to talk to her, _right? _»

At that, he looked ready to fall on his butt and stay a messy embarrassed mess for the rest of the day. If I could help it, I would make it happen too.

However, I was cut short by Martin's ringtone. I never saw so much relief in a single second.

Hastily, he picked up his cellphone and answered.

Loudly might I add.

«BOSS! OH, I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOUR VOICE, YOU CAN'T IMAGINE HOW! HAVE I MENTIONED I LOVE YOU? »

I blinked.

I fell to the ground, laughing my lungs out as Martin followed up on his… enthusiastic first reply with some form of shameful apologies and respectful promises to never say anything remotely similar ever again.

«Well, I paid for that pair of shoes, didn't I? And you already handed out the punishment back then, right? » He frowned, much more serious.

A few seconds of wordless expectations followed, during which I could not hear any other words on the other side of the line.

«That battle? It was during my lunch hours. » This time, he was starting to sound annoyed. …and I was not very happy with what this was starting to imply.

«What? Of course not! Do I sound like such an irresponsible employee? »

I had this bad feeling his boss was thinking among the same lines as I was on this one.

«I'm sorry, but I have been working, boss. The delivery were made in record times, just like always. You want faster than that? You get a psychic, but then, that's illegal. » He really gave off the feeling of being pissed now.

Was every single one of my evil gloating trips going to end up like that? With me starting to get guilty a minute later. That sounded suspiciously like Arceus trying to stop me from turning evil. It was a good idea.

There were no evil champion.

Martin ended his conversation with a sigh.

«Are things going to be alright? » I asked, nervous about that.

«Well, my boss sounded angry about the shoes and the untimely day off, but I knows he does not want to fire me if he can avoid it. » Martin shrugged, confidant in his salary being secured.

«That's good then. »

«True, but it also means I should not fool around too much today. Basically, I won't be able to see your third gym battle, » he replied softly, genuinely sorry.

Oh…

«I can always leave Three or Orion with you in case you need my help, but I have some delivery to do this afternoon. » He patted my head and I secretly felt more conforted by the kind gesture.

«I'll be fine, » I boasted. «I don't _need_ Three or Orion to back me up, but I bet that they would love to see a truly high level gym battle. »

He was soooooo not buying it.

«They probably would love it. » Martin nodded and pressed a pokéball against my palm. «Show them your best, champ. »

He turned his back to me and left, waving goodbye. I returned the hand sign, slightly sick at the prospect of my oncoming battle. I could do it; I knew I could.

After all, I had dreaded the interview, but it had gone rather smoothly in the end, right? True, one could argue that it had gone way too well for it to be my regular level of disaster, but then again, I had been given a new nickname and was being mocked by thousands of people online.

Eurgh… I was not helping myself. Still, I could only move forward. There was a gym battle to be held in this city and the fastest way to my dream of being champion went through Whitney.

As I started to walk down the street, I pushed aside all premonitions and suspicions. It was a mistake. That interview was but the prelude to a bloodbath without soap… a nasty tear-filled bloodbath with me at a few centimeters of the center of it all.


	16. Huh that's a surprise

**Huh… that's a surprise**

«YES! You're the best, Dora! » I yelled.

My dear princess smiled smugly, her arms crossed over her chest. My own smile was just soft. There was something endearing with her acting slightly confused about those two new limbs, even when she was trying to play up her strength and her beauty.

«I must admit that I did not see it coming. » The gym trainer walked up to me with a few bills of pokédollars.

I shot up a look at his frozen meowth. Yeah, he probably did not see it Beam was rapidly turning into Dora's favorite battle move. From the second I had used up Martin's technical machine, my quagsire has been using it whenever she could, taken by the beauty of the sparkling frozen water.

Following this, I had a very quick discussion about never using it on other humans (I nearly lost a finger to it according to Nurse Joy!). It almost failed when, annoyed by the overbearing trainer that I was, she used the ice type move on me… on my face.

It was a good thing I had taken to explaining it to her in the middle of the lobby, as opposed to my room.

After a quick trip to the medical sections of the pokémon center, I had returned exhausted and shivering to a shocked Dora.

She stopped using it when I did not command her to.

I hoped that it was out of concern for me or even that she just never really wanted to hurt anyone whenever she used attacks on them. I would not bet on it, but I hoped.

It led us to this: a battle with a gym trainer where she had pressed me to call for Ice Beam more than necessary. It worked in our favor in the end, so I was not going to complain. Besides, my face was fine the way it was, mud free and all.

«Good job, Dora. » I patted her on the head, a gesture she, for once, did not retaliate against. Hopefully, I was growing on her.

She shot me with a Water Gun the second I turned my back on her.

That was a great lesson. She was a manipulative little critter and I could respect that, as long as I was not the one she manipulated.

«You're almost there. Whitney's waiting for challengers on the far end of the gym, over there. » The other trainer pointed to his left, in a surprising show of good sportsmanship.

What do you know? Not all gym trainers are rude and annoying.

I thanked him warmly and I went on my way, scanning the place for a hidden gym trainer that would challenge me when I turned my back on him or her.

Kind of like what happened with the girl that had dismissed me so harshly the last time I came here.

From a seat in the middle of a dozen potted plants and flowers, she had loudly declared that today was not the day I could challenge Whitney in all impunity.

It took me a second, but I recognized her for exactly who she was.

Levys was the one to shot down her arrogance. From the looks of disbelief on her face back then, it had been shot down hard, beyond repair. Stuttering and protesting, she just had no words for the situation at hand, namely her clefairy being defeated by Levys alone.

There was something absolutely gleeful about using a pokémon people never took seriously to break their arrogance. Elitist be damned, my starter is awesome whether you like it or not.

Still, when I arrived in front of Whitney herself with just my team of two, I shivered. In the back of my mind, there was a part of me wondering if I could pretend Three was my pokémon and win the battle with him. There was no doubt he could take her on by himself, he was Martin's pokémon.

Except I could not. I had promised Levys, Dora, Anna, Allan, and most importantly myself, that I would become a champion the right way. Not by cheating, not by risking my partner's lives.

It was why I had refused the Zephyr Badge then; it was why I would fight fairly now.

«Well, well, well, aren't you a cute boy? » She said, grinning and teasing.

I flushed from ear to ear. I had _not_ anticipated being hit on by a gym leader.

«And now you're a tomato! So cute! » She squealed, holding her hands together at the level of her chest.

Oh Arceus…

«Just kidding. » She went back to normal, which was looking slightly mischievous and prone to pranking.

For the love of Arceus, did Martin infect the whole region with his madness when I had my back turned? I shivered, even more than a moment ago, because I had just imagined myself being chased by a crowd of rabid Martins.

«Alright, kid, you're here to challenge me, right? » Whitney brought me out of my horrible nightmare with just a few words.

Some, which unfortunately, almost prompted me to reply «duh». That probably not would have mixed well with that thirty something years old energetic lady.

«Yeah. » I replied, briefly, because I had a feeling that a prolonged conversation would be the end of me.

«Cool, let's get the show going then! » She raised an arm high and I heard a few girls cheer for her on the sidelines.

Crap, cheerleaders, my mortal enemies (well, not really, but still, that did not help my stress at all).

«How many badges have you got? » She asked suddenly, taking me by surprise.

«Err… I… don't have any… » I said with a little voice.

«That's a lie! » A girl from the side screamed out with indignation and I recognized her to be my archnemesis, the very same one that had been beaten soundly by Levys.

I grinned. That was an unexpected perk to having trouble getting gym badges.

«Wow, really? And you're challenging me? » She tilted her head, before smiling widely. «You've got guts, kid! I like this. Let's see what this means on the battlefield! Come on out, Cleffa!»

Was there a _rule_ saying that everyone in a gym must have the same family of pokémon over and over again? I could perhaps understand for bug types, since the forest near Azulea only had a limited amount of species, but _normal types_, no way. I could think of a dozen kind of pokémon off the top of my head that were not clefairies, like ratta-

Oh sweet Mew, what was I thinking? Go clefairies!

«Just one minute please. » I held a finger high as I asked for a time out.

I had decided; Levys would fight first in this battle. Mostly because Dora had been hogging quite a few of them in this gym and both my pokémon had the right to smack normal types equally.

«Okay, done. » I declared as I finished filling the aquarium. «Levys, you're up next. »

My magikarp materialized with a loud enthusiastic «Kaaaaaarp! ».

Nice, he was all fired up. Good, because so was I.

Those first two times were just bad luck. Nothing of the sort would happen this time… I hoped...

«A magikarp? You wouldn't happen to be Martin's little bro, would you? » Whitney did a double take upon seeing my pokémon. «Ah, I will take that horror filled face as a «yes». Okay, that was all. We can start. »

«Levys, start things off with Tackle! » I shouted and my magikarp launched itself into the air with great speed.

«Ah, it will take more than Tackle to beat me, Magikarp Boy. » Whitney chuckled, preparing to give out another order.

I, on the other hand, only heard «Magikarp Boy»… That nickname was going to stick, wasn't it?

«Cleffa, DoubleSlap! »

The normal type ran up to meet Levys, a dangerous light glittering in its eyes. Quickly enough, I found out that this confidence had a basis.

She hit twice. Once to deflect the Tackle, the second time to slap Levys a few meters across the field.

«Levys, bounce back with Splash! » I commanded, ignoring the snickering from the Whitney's subordinates. Among other comments, there was a «Who uses _Splash_ in battle? ».

Me, that's who. And they would soon find out why.

Levys leaped in the air, much higher than he normally would and started spinning. One, two, three, four… beyond that it was getting a bit blurry to count well.

Whitney grinned when she saw what was about to happen. Hum… that smile did not help my shaking confidence.

«Now! Tail Slap! » I yelled, as Levys was about to reach her pokémon.

«Cleffa, dodge it! » She ' attack almost hit her, almost! The problem was that now he was dangerously close to Whitney's clefairy. Too much to my liking.

«Splash again! »It was a mistake. I knew the moment I said it. How? I'm not quite sure of that and now that I thought about it, perhaps it was just that given how badly the other gym battles had gone before, I could tell what was bad or good.

Or maybe it was just the Whitney grinned, before giving her command.

«Cleffa, Encore! »

The next seconds were very strange. Levys, after falling into his tank and splashed me involuntarily, just stared between me and his opponent. Said pokémon was jumping and yelling with enthusiasm all the while clapping her hands.…

Was that really a move?

«Levys, Tackle! » I said.

My magikarp used Splash.

«Hum… Levys? I asked for a Tackle. » I scratched the back of my head, trying to talk as gently as possible.

Levys was looking just as stumped as I was.

«Karp magikarp? » He blinked, eyes wide.

Suddenly, Whitney's satisfied expression looked terrifying to me.

«Try it again! » I ordered, much faster than I usually Splash.

«Confused? » The gym leader called from her side of the field, while a few of her supporters were snickering

.«No. » I grimaced as I spoke.

Actually, I was not confused anymore. Levys could only use Splash and since he was already in his tank, he could not even dodge.

«Okay, I was offering to do a bit of exposition, but if you say you're good… » She offhandedly dismissed it. «Cleffa, Metronome! »

That one, I knew what it did.

Any attack. At random.

Normally, I'd be confident about a randomized attack, it could end in a crapshoot.

Of course, there was the big issue of this battle being _me_ against a _gym leader_ with my starter. So, really, I knew it was going to end up using a legendary's signature move or something.

«Levys, get out of the way! » I pleaded, teeth clenched together with anxiety.

And he just could not do anything but hit the water with his tail ineffectually.

I heard a strange buzzing ringing noise, which made my stomach try a backflip and triple axel were sparks on that clefairy's paws.

«Levys, dodge it! » I , just a splash.

Oh crap! What could I do? Levys was stuck using only one move and he could not dodge!

Electricity filled the air and I saw a blinding bolt of lightning eat through the distance between Cleffa and Levys.

The answer came to me faster than lightning.

«RETURN! » I yelled, wiping out his pokéball at the speed of light.

Not a second too soon either, as the electricity hit his tank right afterward.

I shivered.

«Oh, good call there, kid. » She approved, nodding.

Next would have to be Dora then…

Eh… that was not much of a problem. My princess did great today, especially with her new move. I also knew that she would not attack another trainer and that she would listen to me reasonably well. Okay, I could try to use her in a gym battle for real this time.

I still needed to take a deep breath before opening her pokéball.

«Sire? » She wondered, before seeing Whitney's pokémon and grinning dangerously.

«Yeah, another one. Be careful though, it's stronger than the ones before, » I advised.

«Quagsire quag. » She dismissed my words with a few paw waves

.«Ready? » Whitney called from afar. «Then let's resume our battle. Cleffa, DoubleSlap!»

Dora looked at me hopefully and I found it hard to say anything but Ice Beam. I settled down with her using Water Gun instead, for which she seemed a bit resentful.

It worked incredibly well was hard to dodge when you were so close to your opponent.

Cleffa was sent flying backward and I cheered. Oh yeah, this battle was going to end with my victory!

«Now Mud Bomb! » I shouted, carried by my enthusiasm.

The poor clefairy let out a panicked yelp when it saw the massive ball of mud spat in its direction. It did not have the time to dodge.

Covered in mud, the poor thing stood up, shaking itself with vigor.

«End this, Dora, Ice Beam! »I had to bite my lips at the audible squeal my quagsire did when she heard my order. Arceus, she was just so girly-cute.

Dora shot bolts of blue light that arched like lightning, in a display that made her eyes glitter with pleasure. No doubt that she would delight in the resulting ice sculpture that would emerge from her attack.

…Or not.

«Cleffa, Mimic! » Whitney instantly said in response to the attack.

The name was appropriate too. The very same move was sent out by the clefairy and the two moves clashed… beautifully, I'll admit.

A frozen star was formed in the middle of the field, obscuring Whitney and her pokémon from my sight.

I let out a gasp, not because of the new object in the middle of the battlefield, but rather because I could see Dora's expression from where I was standing.

She was fighting herself and debating between irritation and glee. Irritated because the other had countered her move, gleeful since the result was prettier than she had expected. So her facial expressions were alternating between happy and pissed off.

«Dora? » I asked, softly.

She jolted a feet in the air, taken completely by surprise (I suspected that she had forgotten even my existence).

My quagsire seemed incredibly embarrassed to have been seen debating and she turned to me fearfully.

«Quag? »

«Oh, don't worry, I have seen very little in first place. » I shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. «I bet a quick victory would make me forget it completely. »

Oh Arceus. The change in her face was scaaaaaary. Her eyes quickly shone of their darkest light while her scowl turned very sour. I would have returned her here and there, if she had been aiming her anger at me.

«You okay, kid? » Whitney wondered, from the other side of the field.

«Yeah. » I was not quite sure if that was true, considering I was manipulating my little princess into crushing her opponent.

«Cleffa, DoubleSlap! »And her pokémon jumped in the fray fairly quickly, only to be blasted out of the way with one _seriously_ powerful Water Gun.

Not that I was a biased future champion in the making or anything. When you can slam your enemy into the wall with enough force to knock them out with just water, you win. No contest.

«That was good. Return, Cleffa. » The ray of red light caught the pokémon and absorbed it. The next second she whispered something into her occupied fist, then turned to me.

«Alright, that one was good. Next is the real challenge. Let's see you stand up to Cream! » She shouted.I placated my hand against my mouth.

_Cream? CREAM?_

Oh, and I also repeated something among the lines of this in my head: «Don't offend the gym leader, don't offend the gym leader, don't offend the gym leader… ».

Then this big pink miltank just came out of nowhere (well, her pokéball, you know what I mean) and just started to echo its mistress' screams of enthusiasm with its own.

Oh boy…Dora was understandably as skeptical as I was.

«Cream, let's show these two what you've got! Rollout! »

* * *

Skepticism, it was nice knowing you, but now you're pretty much deader than dead!

That one attack… that one weird attack…

It had singlehandedly turned the tables around! Well, it was close to doing that at any rate. Dear Arceus knew I had tried a bunch of attack already and if it was not for the bad maneuverability of a rolling miltank, Dora would have been done for a while ago.

Water Gun? Laughable result. Mud Bomb? Let's not get into that one.

I had had some hopes regarding Ice Beam, but the move could not encase the miltank in an icy prison. That's not to say that it did not have any effect, on the contrary.

It had created one thin layer of ice on Whitney's pokémon, in a straight line. Frankly, it looked like a car's tire. The very positive point was that Cream had been completely unable to change directions after that, rolling in a straight line unfazed. The less positive point was that she was heading in my general direction when the Ice Beam hit her.

With a yelp, I had run to the sidelines, promptly followed by Dora.

Cream had crashed into a wall, cracking it, shattering the ice and looking very disorientated.

For a moment, my heart jumped in my chest, with the mad hope that I would finally win a gym battle.

Then the extremely bad point had kicked in.

«Cream, use Milk Drink! » Whitney had shouted, well before I could think of something to do.

Devoured by my curiosity, I could not help but look at the execution of the one attack that had racked Damian's nerves so much.

Bad idea.

«My eyes! My precious, precious eyes! I need them to see! WHY? » I screamed skyward, my hands on my face in a vain attempt to protect the remainder of my shattered innocence.

«Oh quit it, you drama queen. It's not that bad. » Whitney snorted, dismissing my trauma entirely.

The look I sent her way must have looked outright _demonic_, because she flinched, hard. Her cheerleaders started protesting and throwing names my way, but they shut up as soon as I turned to them.

Internally, I grinned. One more point for my evil overlord talents.

Externally, I was pissed.

What was it with people comparing me to Martin, more these days than ever? Or agreeing with him? That was just as bad in my eyes.

Because I was _not_ a drama queen!

«Alright, » Whitney said hesitantly. «Let's get back to the battle. »

«Huh… can you wait just a second? » I asked, quite unsure of a little detail.

Why was Dora looking completely lost? Seriously, her eyes were lacking that sparkle of intelligence at the service of her spoiled princess tendencies. This worried me, a lot.

«Dora? » I kneeled next to her, waving my hand in her line of sight.

Shestayed unresponsive a few more seconds. Then, her expression sharpened and she went back to being my cute little girl with an evil grin.

«I think she just learned Amnesia, » Whitney explained, smiling to herself. She seemed happy that my pokémon had just learned a new move.

That, however, was just an afterthought in the face of this new betrayal. She smirked at me, blissfully ignorant of the horrors Whitney's pokémon had graved inside my mind.

«Dora! Please, tell me how you did that! » I begged.

«Quag? » She seemed singularly innocent (mocking smile aside), her way of telling me that she had no idea what I could _possibly_ mean.

My eyes filled with some tears. It really was unfair.

And I was NOT a drama queen.

«Okaaaaaaay, this is getting embarrassing enough. Cream, Rollout. » Whitney coughed, now starting to wonder about my mental health (I just knew because I was getting better at reading people's face, mostly this kind of face…).

«Dora, Mud Bomb on the ground! » I shouted, recovering surprisingly fast from that trauma. Woe is my fate.

I wanted to smirk.

Maybe, just maybe, I was not traumatized at all and I felt like having fun in a gym battle for once. True, that was a bit too Martin-ish as far as attitude went, but he was not here to witness it so I was safe.

Besides, the big fleshy ball of burger meat had not expected to roll into a muddy floor and had considerably slowed down during that small interval.

«Alright Dora, if she wants to roll, she will have to fight every inch of rolling! Mud Bomb, repeatedly! »

The look Dora and Whitney and her cheerleaders (and probably Cream if she could look my way while curled into a ball) sent me made my cheeks heat up enormously.

Nonetheless, Dora obeyed, mostly because she had nothing better to do than follow my commands.

«Dodge them, Cream! » The gym leader yelled, prompting her miltank to roll between the muddy spots that were starting to cover the battlefield.

«Oh no, you don't! Dora, Ice Beam in front of her! » I countered.

My quagsire squealed, which was starting to get disturbing, when the floor was covered by a glittering layer of ice, right where Whitney's Miltank was going.

She slipped.

Well, kind of…

It is hard to describe that glorious feeling, the one you get when you see a hated enemy self-destruct in a humiliating fashion. Even the moment when you frantically yell to your pokémon to get out of the way and step aside yourself – even _that_ moment – can barely put a dent on the joy you feel.

Cream once more collided with a wall. Once more, it had slightly dizzy eyes as it tried to shake off it confusion.

I really should have seen it coming.

«Milk Drink! »

Dear Arceus! I was starting to find this fight more scarring than it should legally have the right to be. Much later, I'd remember this fight and shiver. I also had the intimate conviction that if I was ever subject to another Dream Eater, _this_ would be what I would be seeing.

Oh, and to add insult to the injury, that move just healed Cream.

Just. Great.

«You know, when you said you wanted to make me using Rollout a constant fight, I did not think you would really be able to do it. » Was that praise? It was hard to tell. «Oh, and I must congratulate you on your quagsire's special defense. I bet it's getting ungodly at this point, » she added with a nod in Dora's direction.

I would have been really confused if I had not noticed the distant, foggy eyes my pokémon was now sporting. Dora had used Amnesia again!

«Okay, that's it! No more freaking Milk Drink! » I screamed, actually startling the rest of the people and pokémon in the room. «Dora, Ice Beam on that Miltank's belly! »

There. The blue bolt of ice struck Cream exactly where I had instructed and she was now completely unable to crouch or use that dreaded, awful, dangerous attack… oh, and Rollout was taken care of too.

«Wow, I can see why everyone says you're just as -»

«Don't! » I turned to glare at her. I just knew what she was going to say and I was not going to let her say it!

She tilted her head to the side, frowning.

«You're weird. »

That left a bad taste in my mouth. True, I was indulging in my fantasies a bit more than usual today, but I had a good reason. I did not want to break down or anything. I did not want to stay nervous and fearful at the idea of a gym battle.

The title of the weirdest champion of Johto ever did _not_ sound very appealing to me though.

Nor did the title of the muddiest champion, but Dora apparently thought that it was fitting for me. Or at least, that's what I assumed a powerful Mud Bomb to the face, strong enough to make me fall on my butt, meant.

«Sire. » She said with disdain. She looked offended that I was spending so little time fawning over her.

Ah. That made sense.

«Are your battles always this eventful? » Whitney asked, a bit taken aback by all the stuff happening to me.

«Thank Arceus no! » I stood up quickly, eyes wide at the idea of this being a constant (even more than now) occurence.

_Hey_, I was telling the truth! Lots of battles with trainers met on the road were nothing to write home about, _especially _the ones I lost. _Those_ deserved to be forgotten forever.

«Phew, I was getting worried here, » Whitney confessed with a wink.

I grumbled in response and she took it as a signal to just declare that if Rollout was going to be this much trouble, she should just use Stomp.

Her miltank then showed me that it was able to jump approximately as high as Levys could under normal circumstances. I was just too shocked for words.

Which is generally considered a very stupid choice of action during a gym battle.

Dora dodged at the last second, thinking I was going to give her an order until she realized I was not going to. There was a promise for a series of painful Water Gun later on in her death glare.

«Again! Show them that you still have something up your sleeves. » Whitney prompted her pokémon toward another attack.

«Dora, return! » I whipped out her pokéball quickly, waiting for the miltank to have reached the ground (directly onto the patch of ice, shattering it in the process).

She said nothing and her miltank took a few steps backward, giving me space to call out my next pokémon.

It was Levys' turn again.

«Starts things off with a Tackle! »

«That won't be enough! Cream, Stomp! »

Both her pokémon and mine took off into the air, majestically cutting through the distance with grace and…

Gah! I just can't find a way to describe it as anything but a fish and a cow jumping threateningly toward each other.

Yes, that was pretty much the gist of the rest of the gym battle. Me, shouting at Levys to dodge or counter or strike prehensively, while Whitney was doing just the same. There were no strategy, just one long battle of stamina.

Panting, both Levys and I were a bit out of breath, while Whitney seemed fresh as a rose, but her miltank was fortunately nowhere near close to healthy. Had it not been for Dora's Ice Beam, there were no doubts that we might never have even inflicted that much damage in the first place.

As it stood, I was wondering whether or not I would ever win a gym battle. I was so close that I could taste the victory – which, by the way, is delicious –, though I knew I had to at least do something extraordinary to truly get the win.

«Go Whitney, crush that little brat already! » A cheerleader shouted from the sidelines, who I recognized as that girl I had crushed after she had been so rude to me. What a sore loser.

«I'm trying! » She responded with annoyance tainting her peppy tone.

I blinked. Wow, was that the truth? If it was, then she had just given me a great confidence boost.

«Levys, you can do this! » I pumped my fist in the air, putting every inch of this ego renewal into my encouragement.

My starter replied with a battle cry that made me shiver with pride. I could just see it, his desire to shoulder the fate of this battle, to win this togther with me.

He leaped into the air, again, his gaze firmly locked unto miltank returned the favor with a glare of her own and responded to the taunt before her trainer had the chance to give her any command. Not that she could do much except that anyway. Levys was spectacular at dodging Attract.

Something to do with his realization of my hatred for the nightmare-inducing beast.

I couldn't be sure why, but I knew something was going to be different this time around. Something about the scene – my magikarp jumping higher than ever before in the battle, fiercely staring own at his opponent, herself using her momentum to shift position in an attempt to ram her feet into Levys –, _something_, told me that this was the end.

A knot tied down my throat as I stared helplessly, not knowing what to say, no knowing what move could turn this around.

I later learned that this intuition (which I was mocked senselessly about by Martin in a despicable show of Karma) was akin to what guided trainers' moves and choices in battle.

«Cub, if you didn't have any idea about what to say, it was because there was nothing to say. It was already decided. » Martin had laughed it off, ruffling through my air just for the extra annoying factor.

For example, here, it was apparently the fact that Cream had made the mistake of jumping last while being the heaviest, meaning that her speed had dropped just as fast as her momentum and that when she did hit Levys, it was nowhere near as dangerous as a stomp that would have hit from above and dragged him down.

Oh, and Levys totally used that fact to his advantage, knocking down her balance in midair with a Tail Slap and having her fall face first into the ground.

Whitney blinked, so did her cheerleaders.

So did I.

Wait… did that mean…?

«Kaaaaaaaaaarp! » Levys jumped back into his aquarium, all about victory dances (or synchronized swimming in his case).

Whitney returned her unconscious miltank with a sad sigh. I heard her muttering some words, but I didn't quite catch their meaning. There was some sort of comfort within them.

That's when it hit me.

«Congratulations, you won. » Whitney walked up to me, somewhat amused by my shock. «Here's your badge and your technical machine. » She continued, softly pushing the two objects in my hand.

«I… I won? » I muttered, unable to believe it.

«No way! » That same angry girl yelled, disbelief deep in her tone.

Man, she really needed to learn how to take an incredibly humiliating loss. If I was in her shoes, I'd be peppy after just a few minutes.

«What did you _do_ to her? » The gym leader eyed me cautiously, as if I was going to turn into a maniac.

«The same thing as I did to you, I defeated you with my magikarp! » I pointed at her, grinning from ears to ears.

«Ah, I know that look, » she said, allowing a smile to reach her lips. «Just about now, you should start -»

«I WON! » I yelled, jumping on my feet, hugging Levys as strongly as I could, doing the same with Dora and Three after I had released them (with just a sneer from my quagsire, as if she was saying that it was to be expected after the great battle she had put up), managing to drag Whitney into the whole celebration to her great amusement, and, all in all, acting hyper.

«Yeah, that's about right, » she said while snickering.

«It calls for a celebration! To the pokémon center! »

I felt pulled at by something invisible and the next second, the scenery had changed drastically.

Well, that was faster than I had expected. I may or may not have forgotten that Three was in hearing ranges and close enough to use Teleport. Not that it mattered much, it just made things easier.

«Oh my, is there an emergency? » The soft voice of Grace Joy greeted us into the center.

«Huh ? I… no, why? » I frowned. I did not think I looked that bad, did I?

«I am sorry. I simply presumed there was a problem since you teleported here, » she explained politely, with a slight bow of apology.

It was almost shocking to remember the same face acting so differently in the persons of Harmonia and Angela. I knew how inconsiderate I was with that, but there were some corners of my mind that did not allow me to think of Nurses Joy as individual. They were just… so incredibly similar, all so pretty...

I had a slight blush when I started going on about asking for ideas of where I could celebrate an awesome victory that would go down in the annals of history.

She had a radiant smile at that and congratulated me.

«Hehe… thanks. » I scratched the back of my head with a small modest smile (or at least I was trying and failing, hard).

«I am very proud of you, » she said warmly.

I blinked, suddenly remembering that I had forgotten to write to Mom again! It had been a while too.

Crap!

I left her my whole team plus Martin's exeggutor as I decided to run for the nearest phone. Knowing her, a quick call home might not be enough to save me from Big Eyes.

Then again, Dora could use Ice Beam now... Oooooh, how I thrived for the day the accursed flying type suffered for its crime against me (most of them being waking me up in the middle of the night for no reason!).

No! Bad me! No beating up Mom's pets!

«Hello? » My mother's voice echoed in the phone and I jumped in surprise.«Hey Mom. »

«My little farfetch'd! » She exclaimed happily. «I was starting to get worried! It's been weeks now. Is everything fine? »

«Yeah, of course, I'm an awesome trainer and you should see Levys. Oh, and I have to tell you about what happened with the pokéball you gave me! »

* * *

Spa. Hot loveable spas.

Love of Mew, you are the most awesome invention of mankind.

I was in heaven. In a bathtub.

…Not something I ever thought I would say and certainly not in front of Mom, or she would find me and rant about my earlier years as a little kid.

Long story short, my phone call went marvelously. We chatted for the rest of the full hour of lunch time my mom was allowed. I had felt a bit guilty at interrupting her meal, but she had just shrugged it off and assured me that hearing my voice was a thousand times more important.

It had warmed my heart to hear it. And made me long for her daily presence…

I shook my head, splashing some water around and earning the ire of Dora, who had been enjoying a mud bath full of algae. Her retaliation was quick and lethal.

«Quagsire! » She threw up a Mud Bomb that sullied my whole face.

Well, I could always pretend that she was trying to make me share the same fun she had…

Anyway, the point was that I was now enjoying a very much earned reward for my very first gym badge fully earned.

It was like the world was made of bliss whenever I thought about it.

«Excuse me? Are you decent? » Someone knocked on the door.

«Yes. Why? » I leaned over the edge of the spa, toward the doorframe where Nurse Joy was now standing.

«One of Whitney's gym trainer just arrived, saying you forgot your prize money when you left. I will be putting it in your bag. »

I grinned. Now that was what I called good timing.

«Great, thanks! »

«You are welcome. » She nodded and smiled before leaving.

«Isn't that just sweet, Dora? » I turned to my quagsire who was enjoying her personal mud bath with an impossibly large smile.

«Sire, » she replied peacefully, eyes closed and enjoying the situation as much as she could.

«Yes it is. » I sank down lower into the spa, a goofy smile on my face as I felt the event of today catch up with me. I was just so relaxed…

This place was the best. Everyone was enjoying it to some degrees.

Three was standing tall and straight, sure, but all three of his heads were gently doodling with the steam, his eyes closed.

The small problem was that Levys was not very fond of hot baths, though there was luckily a really big pool for most water types to swim into.

Staying in the pokémon center of the biggest city in Johto was certainly nice.

I'm not quite sure how long I stayed in that spa, with two pokémon as my only company, but I do remember the moment I suddenly decided to join Levys in the much colder pool elsewhere in the building.

The water was suitably cold, quite refreshing to say the truth. However, what really sold this part of the day was when I managed to use the threats I had bought yesterday to bribe Three.

Seven words: psychic surfing on a miniature indoor tsunami.

Yeah, it was that awesome.

Except for the part where Levys slapped me, while loudly protesting with a shaking voice. From the look on his face, it was not hard to deduce that he was not used to swimming in the middle of a tidal wave.

Who would have guessed?

Still, for a day that promised pain and sweat, this was really beyond my tamest dreams (because my wildest dreams are something else).

* * *

Afterward, I decided to take a walk around town, just to see what it felt like to proceed in a place with a gym and not be stressed about an incoming battle or one that was a painful memory.

It helped my mood even more. I was close to reaching the ultimate zen status when I reached the Town's Hall.

To say my calm evaporated would not be quite accurate. I was not shaken, scared, shocked by what I was seeing, but it certainly brought me down to earth.

The shouting echoing all over the place, leaders exciting the crowd and a tight line of police officer separating the people from the actual building, there was a rather frantic feeling in the air. This was the kind of thing that made history.

The kind of events that you sometimes found yourself looking back in your memory while thinking «I was there. I was there the day that the first of Johto's great days of protest. ».


	17. Searching the right things

**Searching for the right things**

It was primal.

One loud roar of primal anger.

According to the reporters, a little more than an hundred trainers had spontaneously walked down to the Town's Hall to protest and manifest their wrath as soon as the decision had been official.

There had been a cut in the budget for the League Circuit. It was going to hit severely in the case of the pokémon centers that were not overflowing with trainers most of the year. At that, I had a sad thought for Harmonia, who most certainly had to see her working place be shut down for a lack of budget.

I was pissed, so I shouted with the others.

Varying degree of that emotion was present within the crowd at this moment, but it was all turned toward the same target: the training government.

They had chosen that it was not reliably rentable to keep financing pokémon centers that, all in all, were only useful for newbies. Furthermore, since the number of young trainers was supposed to have shrunk down with the last measure, there was no sense in keeping them around. The only problem with this reasoning was that the number of young trainers _had not even decreased!_

Early interviews with famous statisticians were saying that the majority of ten years old had gotten other pokémon as their starters. The same was said of late bloomers such as myself and Damian.

So I shouted with the rest.

Louds shouts, outraged exclamations and stunning moments of silence, those were the lots of the trainers that stood around the place.

The crowd was alive. It was one powerful beast that made everything a swirling, all-compassing blur.

Once in a while, a new trainer managed to reach a pedestal of some sort and screamed louder, rallying the crowd for support and loud slogans.

Once, I found myself on one of these. I stared down at them, my heart beating hard and fast. I could hear the flow of blood louder than my thoughts.

And I started shouting for justice, for our rights, for our capacity to take care of ourselves, for the right of trainer to heal their trusted partners.

Levys promptly made an independent dynamic entry out of his pokéball, startling a few, me included.

There was even a cry of recognition and the name «Magikarp Boy» was said, repeated and chanted. It was not even hiding a shred of irony or mockery. It was pure crowd induced mania.

Holy. Arceus. I… I loved it.

The swirl went on, and I returned to being a nameless trainer among others, whose name was a mystery to most. I kept on shouting with conviction, in anger and sadness, for people like Harmonia and myself.

The words started losing their meaning after a while, being but a series of sound that called for justice and equality.

Everything was one long moment lost in the midst of an exalted crowd.

Until one adult silently walked up to the line of officers, eyes blank with something beyond my own means of understanding. It stroke me as a mix of fear and sadness, but it was deeper, oh unbelievably deeper.

There was a moment when the beast lost its voice and it waited in silence for this intruder to leave.

«WHY? » The shrilled voice sent everyone jolting out of that spell, creating a very real wave of impact that hit everyone so thoroughly that it created a vacuum, one that sucked out all other noises away.

That voice reached me to the heart and it hit a cord of sympathy that made it painful to even stand anywhere within ear reach.

«WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE WHEN MY LITTLE BOY IS MISSING? »

I staggered, hit by the despair and the words.

The words hit the hardest though.

I ran away. I left the beast behind me.

Because I could not bear to be part of it anymore. Because I did not want to think how insensitive I was being. I could not look further than my own little world, could I?

There _had_ to have been a reason for discouraging training again in Johto.

_This _was why.

They were just names before, names to float and haunt anyone that stopped and thought about it. There had been an increase in the number of disappearing trainers. There had been. I was aware of that.

It just… never felt as real before.

I kept running until I was far out of reach of the beast.

* * *

I hid in the pokémon center. When the doors had opened, I had not stopped to look at Grace Joy or at any of the few trainers that had not gone to protest. I had gone straight to my room, with every intent to stay hidden there in shame like forever.

I knew of some unpractical aspects of my plan, such as staying forever in a place that may or may not be shut down in a more or less distant future.

Yup, it had been confirmed, Harmonia's pokémon center had been closed down. She was out of a job for the moment. Right now, I wished I had her phone number to see how well she was taking it.

Then again, she had seen it coming. She was planning to go work with her cousin somewhere near the league… if I remember right.

I was dejected, feeling like a really selfish bastard. There was even a research poster two feet away from the door of my room, for Arceus' sake!

Finally, I stood up, got down and asked if there was any computer I could use. Luckily (or unluckily?) for me, there was a couple of free machines I could get on for half an hour.

The first thing I looked for was names and I found some.

_Marie Swansong, fourteen years old, six badges, disappeared twelve weeks ago, last seen near Blackthorn City. _

I stared at the picture, taking in the image of the brunette and engraving it into my mind. If I ever got a chance to see, to hear about this, I wanted to do something for her.

_Arianna Merguez, sixteen years old, eight badges, disappeared ten weeks ago, last seen on the Victory Road._

_Michael Turner, fifteen years old, five badges, disappeared eight week ago, last seen near Lake Rage. _

The list just went on… Each new name was a stab in the heart for me, each time I was reminded of how insensitive trainers had to be to blame a government doing everything it could to stop such an issue.

Another part of my mind was terrified, for a while, even trainers with _eight_ badges went missing. It just occurred to me that I was far from safe myself. No one knew what these disappearances were all about.

I hit the last name on that list.

_Jeremy Jones, twelve years old, four badges, reported missing today, last seen near the Miltank Farm._

Those images of pain kept flashing around in my head, again and again, until they became absolutely unbearable.

«L-Levys,» I called, nauseous.

I hung onto him like a lifeline.

«Karp? » He asked, confused at being squeezed out for no reason, especially since the last time he had seen me, I was positively glowing with pride and fierce determination.

Huh… must be weird for him to have such a mood swinger trainer.

«I… I just want to hold onto you for a while…» I whispered, uncertain. «Th-that's okay with you, right? »

«Kaaaaarp, » he said, his deep voice being of a great comfort.

No one ever told me about this awesome side of being a trainer. Your pokémon were just so much more than life partners.

* * *

Much later, only after I had calmed down and did some deep rationalization about how I was not that bad, mostly self-centered, and that it was something I could work on if I tried, I had returned to my room, playing with both Levys and Dora, though the latter was not very cooperative.

It was rather calm and I could use that sort of peace, but I had been done and thought that at some point.

This, of course, meant that Martin crashed the place in the next few seconds.

«Hey, champ! How did it go? » Said delivery man lifted me from the ground, expectation running deep within his veins.

Wow, that was overwhelming…

«Hum… what are we talking about here? » I blinked, a bit confused as to what was the subject. He could not have meant the protest, right? I had not even known I would be there until I saw it.

Martin was not spying me in his spare time, was he?

«Your gym battle of course, » he replied, frowning.

So much for that theory. And my grumpiness, because there was just no way I could be mopey while talking about _that_!

«I won! » I raised a fist in the air, smiling from ear to ear.

«Good job! » He grinned, practically sending me through the roof with one heck of a happy jump. «I'm proud of you! »

Oh yes, I could get used to this kind of treatment.

«So, tell me all about it. Did she use Milk Drink? » P

ainful images flashed in my mind and I found myself glaring dagger at an obviously mocking Martin.

Oh it was on!

I tackled him onto the bed and our greatest fight yet started.

And I totally did not lose.

* * *

He still had some deliveries to make the next morning.

Martin apologized profusely, saying he would make it up to me some time later. I was not quite sure if his crazed smile at the time was a good indicator of how badly I should prepare.

Point is, I was alone and, for once, had the option to sleep in.

Unfortunately, my new conditioning meant that I woke up by myself not long after Martin left anyway. As grossly unfair as that was, I was not sleepy in the slightest and had the whole morning to myself, at the very least.

Now, I could let Dora and Levys out, but… there was a certain something I wanted to do beforehand.

I made my way to the front desk, which was actually quite busy for this time of the day. Once everyone had been served, Mrs. Grace turned to me.

«Yes? » She asked, her voice soft and gentle.

«You would not happen to have old trainer magazines lying around, would you? » I said, dancing on my feet in embarrassment. That was not quite the sort of thing I usually asked.

«Hum… we do have some, but none are older than a year. I think we donated the older ones to the library. » She pressed a finger on her chin, pensive.

«Thank you. » I inclined my head slightly and ran outside.

Destination: GoldenRod City's library.

After all, what I was looking for was about six years old.

* * *

All things considered, that scary bus driver was probably married. There was just no way it could not be the truth. It was the match made in heaven. The intimidating bus driver and the librarian witch.

Never have I met an old woman that rude before!

Here's how our first and last conversation went.

Me, timid, shy cute little boy went over to the counter, shooting glances around just in case I found the stashes of old magazines I was looking for. «Excuse me, Ma'am, I'm looking for-»

«Our electronic system is at your disposition. This desk is for registrations, ONLY! » She finished with a yell, slamming a book on her desk with enough strength to make cracks appear.

Yeah, really welcoming place.

Actually, it was, in a comfy ancient way, I guess. The library was all wood and no concrete; it gave off that little traditional feel, kind of like Falkner's gym.

My stomach squeezed up at the thought and I found myself having trouble breathing normally. Crap! Why did I think of that now? It had started like an okay day too!

I kicked an innocent bean bag chair just to vent off the frustration, which only served to get my feet stuck in it.

Oh, and fall on my back trying to free myself too. Let's not forget that.

Worst even, there was a light chuckle that followed way too closely to be a coincidence.

Blushing, I turned to see, at my great dismay, two girls laughing while glancing in my direction every so often. Both brunettes looked a few years older than me, but that did little to decrease my feeling of humiliation.

«Look at him sulk. » One of the two suddenly prompted the other. As I was saying…

«Hey, don't be mean, » the second protested, lightly hitting her friend's shoulder, half disapproving, half smiling.

She then walked up to me and pulled me up firmly.

«Hum… thanks, » I said, after a moment's hesitation.

«You're welcome, little guy. » She grinned.

I grimaced. I really did not like being treated like a helpless child.

«Hey, look at him blush! I think he likes you; that's so cute! » Her friend started fawning over me.

«Errr… do you mean cute in a good or a bad way? » I asked, to their great confusion.

«Huh? »

«Like… being cute by being good looking or just being cuddly and cheek-pinchable-by-annoying-aunts? »

By the way the second girl's face fell, it was the latter. I smirked when her friend started laughing.

«Well, he got you there, Aunt Melissa. » She snorted while the other started grumbling. «Hey, don't be such a grouch. You were laughing at him before. » She pointed out, starting to earn quite a few points in my book.

I crossed my arms triumphantly and stuck out my tongue at the one called Melissa, which decided that, from this point on, kids were just a snotty bunch of annoying things.

«Hey, you would not happen to know where they keep the old magazines in this place, would you?» I looked up, struck by the idea.

«Oh, yeah, follow me, » the girl said, turning around and disappearing between two shelves.

I promptly stepped in her footsteps, not willing to stay behind, alone with a Melissa that was glaring daggers at me.

«There you go. All the magazines you could possibly hope for, in chronological order. Thank Miss Dumbleton for that. »

«The old librarian pokéwitch? » I could feel my eye twitch at the mere mention of that old lady.

She nodded.

«Pass. » I grimaced.

That made the girl laugh.

«You're a snarky little guy, you know that? »

«My big brother seems to think so, » I replied automatically, realizing only afterward what I had actually told her.

I was mortified, pale as a ghost type… err, maybe more of an ice type actually.

«Bipolar too, it seems, » she commented.

My forehead met the closest desk, repeatedly.

«Okay… I'm going to leave you now, » she snickered, faking horror.

«Thanks for the help, hum…»

«Linda. My name is Linda. » She helpfully provided, a slight expectation following her words.

«Okay, thanks Linda. You can now brag that you helped the future champion, » I boasted, grinning.

«Right, I will do just that, all the time, little champion. » She smiled, waving goodbye.

Well, who said that strangers were all that bad? Maybe my luck was really looking up.

Hum… I should definitely hold my judgment on that though.

«Now… let's see… » I whispered, going through a pile of old trainer magazines, before finding the one I was looking for: «Into the League's backstage».

It usually held all sorts of articles about high level training, sometimes focusing on the Elite Four and the Champion himself.

I went through the dates, back in time for one, two, three, four, five… and six years.

«Okay Martin, time to get to know you better. »

Because I was seriously getting annoyed that complete strangers seemed to know so much more about Martin than I did.

The first article that caught my attention was the one with that title.

_The hidden shadow of the sunshine_.

«Sheesh, that is only mildly ominous, » I could not help but deadpan, which was even sillier when I was alone in a library.

_The beloved Sunny Martin seems to have lost his touch. For the one hailed as the true gate to the champion, his track record looks less than stellar._

_Three years ago was the day the ones called The Strongest Elite Four in Johto's history took their rightful place in the League's Circuit. The word «rightful» might be a mistake however. _

_As the League's records are public access, some of you are understandably confused. After all, Sunny Martin's statistics are all but spotless. A number of defeats that could be counted with one hand, a completely crushing victory against former Elite Four Karen, public relationships that could not be better if he tried. The perfect trainer and one that everyone must trust with the guard of the Champion, don't you think?_

_How strange is it then, that the number of trainers reported to have won against him in the last few weeks have more than triple? Coincidentally, it seems to happen in conjecture with the notable fall out between the Bright Fool and the Void Champion. Is the truth much uglier than what seems to have been fed Medias for years now? Could it be that we were lied to for all these years? Why is it that, now that the Champion and Sunny no longer go along, the «great» Martin seems to keep losing to his challengers? Why are some trainers suddenly claiming that they had not lost against Martin, but against Liza, the Storm Lady?_

_Perhaps it comes to no surprise that Sunny Martin has officially resigned from his position._

_Dear readers, we will uncover the truth behind the lies of the League._

…What?

What was THAT?

Were they accusing Martin of… of being a fraud? Some kind o-of... phony trainer?

Did they not SEE him completely annihilated other trainers before? True, the last time I had seen that happen, _I _was on the receiving end of that battle and I had still not earn one badge…

…

I dropped the magazine and averted my eyes from the article. It felt as if it had suddenly caught fire in my hands.

I had opened a box I was not willing to look into anymore.

* * *

«Ready? » Martin asked, carrying a slightly smaller box than usual.

«Set. » I nodded.

«Let's go then. »

We took off.

We were done with Goldenrod City. I had gone shopping, I had had an interview on the radio, _got my first badge_, participated in a protest and did some research about a few things, Martin's career included.

Whoa, I had been busier than I thought I would. I had just expected a gym battle and run. Granted, the running part had almost happened due to anxiety issues at first but… I could say it had gone better than I thought.

Perhaps I was just going to have a rocky start, like Martin had predicted.

I paled when I remembered that his other prediction involved a high risk of Levys leaving me.

…That would never happen! It just could not…

«You're even more silent than usual, champ. Are you feeling okay? » Martin noted, humming one of his favorite songs between each sentences.

«Oh, yeah. I guess. » I shrugged, trying to appear as unsuspicious as possible.

I had not told him what I had read about. It just scared me to think that he might have been lying to me for this long. To be fair though, he had spared me most of the details of his career as part of the Elite Four. He could not be accused of lying if he had not said anything in the first place.

Plus, his wacky hijinks stories involving Eric Molson and Tabatha Jones, the Cold Storyteller and the Hidden Sage (Arceus, I had to get one of those cool nicknames… you know, that's not _lil' teddy_), were hilarious and crazy enough to have been true. If they were false, then Martin had to become a script writer for comedy.

«Hey, I know I did not ask before but Three was not too much trouble when you had him, right? » He suddenly asked, blinking and twisting a little as if trying to glance at the pokéballs on his belt.

«Nah, unlike you, I'm such a great trainer that I can easily control even a high leveled pokémon like him. » I grinned, raising my head high and staring smugly at Martin.

There was this look of disbelief and indignation on his face for a split second, but it was quickly replaced by a skeptical frown and a half-smile.

«Is that so? » He looked forward, reaffirming his grip on the package he was delivering. «And what about lower level pokémon, such as a certain quagsire? »

My smile slipped and my eye twitched.

Crap. He got me.

The chances of Dora listening to me were not very high, especially outside of a fight, where she seemed to have understood my commands were useful suggestions for her course of action. In a mundane context, well…

She would do as she wanted, which involved getting her caprices satisfied, usually by me, or just taking out her disappointments on someone, also usually me.

«Never mind. » I conceded the point.

Martin came to a brutal stopped.

«W-what? » He stared.

I took a step back, surprised by his sudden erratic behavior (more than usual, I mean).

«Martin? » I asked timidly, when he dropped the box and put a hand on my forehead.

«You don't have a fever. Okay, shoot, what's wrong? You're not feeling well, depressed maybe? »

«Huh? » I blinked.

«Oh no, deep confusion, this is worse than I thought. Let's get Orion to read your vitals, » he muttered, mouth twisted with concern and mockery.

«Stop that! » I shouted and pushed him back. «I'm just trying to be mature for once, okay? Can I do that? No? Well, too bad, because I did. »

After that, I crossed my arms and pouted.

«But that's no fun. You're fun! You don't want to get boring, do you? » Martin cried, dramatically getting on his knees and holding my shoulders together.

«Me? Boring? » I repeated.

«Hum… excuse me, » a feminine voice interrupted our drama class.

We both turned in her direction, in a freakishly synchronized motion, and we saw that it was a girl about my age. The main differences between us was that she was a girl wearing a scout uniform, she was followed by a wide-eyed vulpix and I was as red as a tomato.

«I… I wanted to ask for a pokémon battle, but perhaps you're a bit too occupied… » Her voice trailed off and she looked away, starting to blush herself.

«Oh, no, don't mind me. Cub over here will battle you. We've got plenty of time to spare, » he reassured her with a nice smile, though the glint of amusement in his eyes was directed at me.

_No escape for you._ That's what they told me.

Stuttering, I took out Dora's pokéball and started the fight, with Martin as the referee.

* * *

Among the many positives I could say about Route 35, there was the fact that there were quite a few trainers around my level, most of them having pokémon with a disadvantage toward water, ground or even ice. Needless to say, Dora received plenty of experience there. With a bit of determination and perseverance, Levys achieved a similar result, though the difference in difficulty was very hard to ignore at this point.

I silently prayed that he would evolve soon, if only to stop the exhaustion and the bruises and cut he had gotten over the day.

Among the negative things I had to say… well, Martin's teasing about that Girl Scout had just reached a new level of annoyance. I had to admit that when he started comparing her to Anna and citing both their good points, I snapped.

Leading to a knowing smile on his part and a deep desire to go hide in a hole on my end.

Then, there was this situation.

We had made a detour at some point on the road, going through the woods rather than the official National Park. For some reason, there had been a bug catching contest. Only participants were allowed inside.

Knowing my luck, we did not press the issue and instead opted for the longer and more tedious option. Frankly, I did not really mind not going through a park full of bugs that would surely assault me with web and stingers. Not to mention that the detour meant more leveling up for Levys and Dora.

It went rather well too. Martin stayed his usual self, making quirky comments about my battling once in a while, but generally being helpful as a guide and jerk repellant.

We were almost at the end of our detour, with the sun starting to disappear behind the horizon when we heard a loud cry of rage.

Before I realized what had happened, the owner of that scream was within sight and with him was another thing. My question about the guy's well-being was cut short within my throat and I produced only a strangled noise.

I took a step backward, away from the scyther at his side.

The trainer in question did not noticed and angrily turned to us.

«Hey! You two! » He snarled, making me back away even further. «A caterpie! A freaking caterpie was worth more point than my scyther! Can you believe that? »

Oh yeah, I'd believe anything right now, just… please don't hurt me.

Unbelievably, Martin smiled and had to held back a snort.

«You find something funny? » He walked up to Martin and glared, inches away from his face.

«No, no, don't mind me. Go ahead and rant about the contest. » He shrugged, clearly finding the whole situation funny.

«Hey, you, the kid! » He snapped, pointing his finger directly at me. «Do you really think a caterpie should win a bug catching contest against a _scyther_? »

«N-no. » I could only reply.

«Darn right! And instead of that Sun Stone I needed, I get this! » He ranted and shoved something in my hands. «Well, take that stupid prize, I can't look at it without going berserk! »

He left.

Just like that, he left us staring, me in shock, Martin with a vague curiosity.

«What did he give you? » The delivery man leaned toward me to get a better own eyes went down, following his lead.

Oh Reverse World no!

That guy had just shoved an Ultra Ball in my hands!

«No, » I grunted. «Take it, Martin, now. » I pushed the pokéball in his direction, only for him to raise both his hands in front of him.

«I can't accept it, champ. It was a gift to you, » he explained, struggling not to laugh as he said that.

«Yes, you can! » I stepped forward, gritting my teeth and tightening my jaw with fury.

«If you don't want it that badly, why don't you just throw it away? » He countered, diverting my attention from that fact by sheer virtue of bad insight.

«Are you crazy? » I snapped. «Have you seen what happened to me so far? I bet you that if I try to simply drop that ball, it will miraculously land on some random wild pokémon and, for some obscure reason, I will be unable to release it afterward, by sheer virtue of bad luck! »

«You're blowing it out of proportion, » he rolled his eyes and grinned.

This would not stand.

«Oh really? » I said, grabbing his arms and dragging him away into the closest patch of long herb I could find. «Look, » I ordered, extending the arm that held the Ultra Ball. «If I were to throw it away now, then I would just drop it, to minimize my chances of hitting a pokémon I hadn't seen before. If I do… »

I quickly doubled over, sweeping the spot next to me with one hand and pulling up the first thing I touched.

«…you will find th-»

«SPI! » The spinarak I had caught screamed, making me jolt, and I dropped it.

GAH!

I did not drop it quickly enough. Its first reflex was to cover my face in web and making me shiver from head to toes.

I managed to control my extreme disgust long enough to clean up my mouth and say: «I rest my case. ».Only then did I start to give out the high pitched scream of horror.

Strangely, I was not satisfied of being proven right while Martin provided me with a clean towel all the while he struggled for air on the ground.

That he had not recovered by the time I was done wiping out the last remains of the ungodly substance was just what I needed to feel both extremely silly and embarrassed.

«You're unbelievable, champ. » Martin finally stood up and dried his tears, ruffling my hair as he spoke. «I knew there was a reason I loved traveling with you. »

My lips only twisted in a very bitter smile, really, I swear.

«Then, cub, since you don't want to keep that pokéball or throw it away, what will you do with it? » He asked, more as an afterthought than anything else.

«Err… » I looked around, grimacing at the sudden realization that I had only complained about the problem without thinking of anything to do at all. «I… will keep it… in my bag… »

Martin stared.

«In your bag? »

«In my bag… » I repeated. «In another bag inside my bag, just to be safe. Then… when we get to Ecruteak City… I will… take it out once to sell it at the Pokémarket. »

He seemed to muse it over, but that disappeared quickly, like most instance when Martin gave the impression he was thinking.

«It sounds sensible enough. There is no point in wasting a free-be like that anyway. Let's follow your plan. »

He led us back on the road after that and we stopped for the night not long afterward. All that time, I rested easy, knowing that, for once, I would not break my promises even more.

* * *

**Hey, can you say Death by Genre Savviness? It's the first thing that crossed my mind when I thought of that scene. I mean, not like it will _necessarily_ explode in his face or... who am I kidding here? No one? That's what I thought. Meh, so, for those wondering, this is pretty much your last chance to give your opinion on what his team will be like. **


	18. By your own volition

**By your own volition**

Strictly speaking, I was not nervous. I was not terrified either. Truth to be told, I could only feel so much when being that distracted.

We were on a roll. Dora had kept on winning more fights, Levys sometimes losing, sometimes winning. All in all, I could not complain and feel right about it. It just struck a nerve every time. It also had a tendency to be more aggravating whenever the prospect of facing a gym leader crept up from the corners of my mind.

Levys had absolutely zero attack that would work on a ghost. None at all.

Dora's ground type moves would also be a lot harder to use on floating ghosts that would phase through ordinary obstacles.

I was not nervous at all, but I was irritated, aggravatingly so.

If there was an obvious fix to this problem, I could not see it. It was that simple. Martin had kept quiet, which I must admit, while not useful, was at least relaxing.

I much preferred those comfortable silences around him than eccentric conversations. It allowed me to think.

«Okay, earth to champ, we're arriving. Thank you for trusting Sunny's Industries. Over, » he said, mimicking a ferry pilot.

«I want a refund, » I grumbled, smirking.

«No can do, our policies only allows payment in the form of hugs, which we haven't been given yet. However, if you do insist for refunds, we would be happy to produce said payment ourselves. »

«No! Wai-!»

Too late. He grabbed me and cut off any protest I might have had with one bear hug. Oh, and for the records, I was only blushing because he prevented me from breathing and the embarrassment, not because I enjoyed that pitiful attempt at drowning my sorrows within a stupid display of uncool emotions.

«Now that was a good hug, lil' teddy. Feeling better? »

Yes…

«Tch, as if, » I grumbled, looking away. All Martin had to do was smile knowingly to send me into a blushing mess. At least, I could keep my mouth shut and preserve whatever dignity I had left. Better yet, I could use the obvious distraction of sprinting to enter Ecruteak City as soon as possible. That would work too.

«Hey, hey, hey! I'm carrying packages here! » Martin protested at my sudden acceleration and I smirked.

«Too bad, Martin. I guess I have to leave you to eat my dust. » I shrugged mid-run, not at all feeling sorry.

Now, my first priority was to get to the pokémon center. We've had a few challenges this morning and at least one of them had been a close call. Dora had lost and Levys had been the one to finish the opponent. Needless to say, the tension around those two was sky high. My little princess already did not take kindly to losing, but Levy cleaning up her fights was even worse.

My only hope was that a fully healed trip to the pokémon center and the (hopefully) kind arms of a Nurse Joy would soothe the ruffled feathers of my quagsire. I sure as heck did not want to release her if she was in a killer mood.

This was the longest I had stayed clear of mud since my training journey had started. I liked my clothes the color they were bought.

When I did make it into the center, I was pleasantly surprised that there was almost no line-up. Quickly, I went to stand behind some bulky looking trainer that kept muttering about zubats. I almost hugged the poor guy on the spot, but the few cells of my brain that Martin hadn't fry through simple exposure to himself held me back.

Still, that guy deserved compassion.

When it was finally my turn, I was greeted by an unsettlingly deep «Hello».

My eyes shot upward in shock, toward the Nurse Joy, who simply giggled to herself.

What?

«Sorry, I just wanted to see how you would react, » she explained sheepishly.

«Hum… »

«So, how can I help you? » She asked, leaning over the counter on her elbows.

Wow, Harmonia, is that you?

I opened my mouth to talk, but I could not push the words out, trying to blink the shock out of me. Needless to say, the Nurse Joy stared.

«Hello? » She said again with a much deeper tone, waving a hand in front of my eyes. «Oops, I broke him. »

«What's that I hear? My lil' bro's broken? » Martin's voice boomed and we both jumped, though I suspect not for the same reasons.

«Martin! » She squealed.

Yes, yes she _squealed._ A Nurse Joy _squealed._

I let my forehead hit the counter and groaned.

«Nirvana! » Martin jogged to our level, still handling the boxes with caution. However, when he talked, there was no sign of it. On the contrary, his voice was warm and substantially gentler. I could hear the smile on his face. «It's been a while, girl. How are you? »

I looked up, torn between annoyance, surprise and a little bit of jealousy.

«I've missed you! » Nirvana leaned forward and her arms enlaced him, over the counter she now seemed to wish out of existence.

I snickered at the blush that appeared on Martin's face and at the awkward position he was now in.

«Yeah, me too! » I grinned, using a much more excited voice than usual and I launched myself at him, putting my arms around his waist and leaning just a little bit too much on him.

He shot me a dirty, half-amused look just before it happened.

It was worth it.

Falling into a tangled mess of limbs and boxes was worth it. Definitely. I had to make big efforts not to start snickering right away, though my eyes probably revealed just how much I wanted to. To Martin at least.

Because Nurse Joy hurriedly got up to her feet and started to assert the damages, physical or material, and the likes.

«Don't apologize Nirvana, it wasn't your fault. » Martin smiled to her, yet his eyes flickered in my direction.

I flashed him an evil grin for a second before starting to whisper, as the living incarnation of innocence I was.

Nurse Joy bought it at least.

«I'm _really _sorry, guys. I got a little excited to see you after so long. » She bowed, making another apology. «I mean, it was really nostalgic to see you on the news again. And to think you had hidden from me that you had a little brother! » She finished with a little bit of accusation.

My whistling stopped and it as Martin's turn to grin, sheepishly though.

«Well, it never really came up before and we've been «best buddies forever» only recently. »

Hear that, Martin? That sound that drowns out the voice of Nurse Joy here is caused by my teeth grinding together to the point of shrinking.

«Oh well. » She shrugged, looking down. «I guess one as busy as you cannot tell everything to a simple insignificant nurse like me. » Tears started to pearl in the corner of her eyes and Martin started panicking.

«No, no, no, that's not what I meant at all! » He quickly leaned forward, holding his hands in front of him as a sign of sincerity.

«It's okay, Martin. » She sighed melodramatically, which clued me in to her game. «I just believed we had something s-special, that you thought of me as a friend… »

If he was not so busy being completely fooled, he might have noticed he was being completely fooled.

I snorted.

«He's mean, isn't he? Always letting his former glory get to his head. » I whined convincingly (only because I was that good of an actor, thank you very much).

Martin's face fell, before turning into a spectacularly annoyed version of itself.

«A tag-team is just too much, guys. » He looked away, sighing heavily.

«Yeah, we're plain evil. » I nodded with satisfaction. «Hey, Mrs. Nirvana, I'd like to get my pokémon healed up, please. »

She returned a glance with a grin not unlike those of Harmonia.

«Of course. Give me a few minutes and they will be as good as new, » she said.

«For what it's worth, can you do the same with mine? » Martin interjected.

She winked at him and I saw him blush.

«Do you even need to ask, Martin? »

True to her words, it indeed did not take long for our respective teams to be completely healed up.

«Okay, I'm going to train around town! » I decided, with all the intimidating presence of a future champ.

«So long as you don't bring down a few buildings in the process… » Martin smirked.

«Hey! »

«Do as you wish, champ. » He shrugged. «I've got to deliver these babies today anyway. » He pointed to the multiple boxes which had survived our hug.«What do you say we meet here for supper? »

«Okay. » There was nothing to really object to this.

«And be careful for once, » he added, sounding suspiciously protective.

«Yes, Mom! » I stuck out my tongue at him and ran off.

Seriously, I could take care of myself… most of the time, anyway.

* * *

Now, I knew that Morgana's gym was going to be truly Reverse World-ish unless I got Levys to evolve. Otherwise, with only normal type moves, this was just not going to work.

The smart thing was just to train until he reached the level twenty. That should be the right way to go, no?

By all means, this should have meant the day went uneventfully, battles after battles with a quick trip to the pokémon center should Dora or Levys happen to lose.

It… didn't quite unfold like that.

While I was on the outskirts of Ecruteak City, looking for some appropriate opponents for my team, I stumbled upon a rather peculiar sight.

There was this blonde man, looking close to forty, maybe a bit older, sitting on a rock and staring into the distance, in the direction of the rebuilt tower of Ecruteak City. From his expression, I could read some form of deep melancholy.

«Hello, » he greeted me, without diverting his gaze from its target.

For a freakishly scary second, I was reminded of the monk and the lady with the xatu. He gave off a _vibe_ so utterly similar, yet… different, also.

«H-hi, » I stuttered, torn between the desire to run away and my curiosity.

«You can relax. It is not my style at all to hurt young promising trainers like you. » He smiled, distantly, but he did smile.

Was he actually making an effort to look less cold? A part of me was touched by the attention, since, you know, it made it easier to breath. Not to mention that the compliment was getting to my head and my reddening cheeks.

«Did I disturb you? » I grimaced.

«Oh, no, not really, » he said and it seemed sincere. «I was simply… reminiscing. »

«Huh… sounds… good, I guess. » I blushed, unable to think of something to say.«W-what were you thinking about? I-if that's not too privy, I mean. » I quickly held up my hands, partly as an apology.

«My name is Morty, does it ring a bell? »

«Not really. » I looked away, biting my lips.

«I was the gym leader here before I gave up the position to Morgana. I battled with Ethan Gold. Do you know _him_? » This time again, there was something akin to a smile that graced his features, but beneath it was hidden another sentiment.

I did not want to answer now. I had a _bad_ feeling about where this conversation was heading.

Morty sighed and his eyes fell on me for the first time.

«I suppose you heard the tales, on how Ethan Gold, then only a trainer about to face the Elite Four, conquered the legendary pokémon Ho-Oh. How he proceeded to defeat the league, all after he had destroyed the last remnants of Team Rocket. Even years after Sebastian White took his title away from him, he is easily remembered, is he not? »

I stared. I could guess what he meant by now, but…

«It is natural, perfectly natural. I have never looked for glory, not even at my very beginnings, while I was but a young trainer like you. There was, however, one thing I dreamed of. »

At that moment, his eyes ceased to look at me. No, I had the disturbing impression they looked through me, as if I was not even there.

«Ho-Oh. The reason I started training was because I wanted to be the one to bring him back in Johto after it fled the violence of men. »

A stone fell in my stomach.

«I could never deny that I felt much joy when I first saw him, called by the dance of five maidens and a beautiful chime. » At that, Morty's smile was true. «There is no way for me to ever complain about the return of Ho-Oh. Never will I say those words. I am truly happy it came back, but... »

I should have said something. I should have moved forward, put a hand on his shoulder, pull him into a hug, anything! To my great despair, I was unable to do so. It was as if touching him would somehow doom me to the same fate.

«…But sometimes, I feel a hint of jealousy in my heart and some cold sadness coursing through my veins when I realized that the dream of my life was not meant to be, that it was fulfilled by someone else, more as an afterthought than a true goal, just to add insult to the injury. »

I was completely unable to find the right words to soothe him, at least a little. I suspected there might not be any words that could.

«W-what are you doing now? » I stuttered, if only to distract myself from that terrible reality that not all dreams come true.

«Oh, a few things. » Morty seemed surprised by my question, probably thinking it was rather unexpected. «Mostly, I study ghosts. They were my companions through my early days and I find them as fascinating as they ever were. »

He smiled again, but there was nowhere near the same trueness to his words now. A makeshift goal could not replace a true dream, could it?

Bitterly, I knew the answer.

Morty waved me goodbye almost absentmindedly and my eyes followed him until he disappeared further into the cover of the forest.

As for me, I turned back, determined to leave this disturbing moment behind me.

It was just so _sad_… I could not, _I would not_, imagine going through the same thing! It could not happen. Dreams had to be something that would be possible if you worked hard enough.

_Morty dedicated his whole life to that goal, didn't he?_

No! No, it would work! Even if I had to spend decades trying I would become the champion someday. It had to happen! I'd work hard enough to pull it off (and a corner of my mind screamed at how unfair and cruel I was toward the former gym leader).

At some point, I had accelerated, running at my top speed without regard for caution and safety (the last time I had run aimlessly through woods far in the back of my mind)… until I was back in town. I refused to leave it for training anymore that day. Even when Martin came back from work and was all smiles and jokes, I just nodded and put on a front, hiding the incredible feeling of wrongness, the deep void that seemed to have appeared in my guts and heart.

I just let myself get taken by sleep, with my conversation with the former gym leader dangerously present, a never ending echo in my ears.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of Martin's lovely voice.

«Hey, lil' teddy, you really ought to get up, you know? »

His hands landed on my shoulder, a bit smaller than I remembered them to be. However, I did not elaborate on that thought, for he violently shook me up.

«HEY! » I yelled, jolting awake, forward.

Right into Martin's face.

Our forehead collided painfully.

We both groaned, which secretly annoyed me, and I slowly opened my eyes.

I blinked.

We… weren't in the pokémon center anymore... In fact, this looked like another hotel room, a bit similar to the one we first rent at the start of my journey.

«Aww, come on, lil' bro, you've got to wake up, we have tons of deliveries to make today, remember? Boss'll have our skin if we don't do them all today. » Martin strapped a bunch of cardboard boxes together and set them on my bed, to which I hastily retracted my feet.

«Hey! Careful with those! » I protested indignantly. «They're fragile! » I found myself saying.

«Yes, yes. I know that. » He sighed, a fleeting smile on his lips. «You're so serious sometimes, cub. »

«Don't call me that! I've outgrown the nickname already! » I seethed, positively livid and ready to launch a painful pillow attack right into his face.

«But you're my cute little brother, why does it matter if you're sixteen? I'll always remember the little teddybear that hissed at me when I opened the curtain. That's the kind of memory I'll cherish all my life, right up there with you telling your magikarp to transform like a ditto and triggering sparklers in a mall with smoke bombs. »

I rolled my eyes and decided it did not matter anymore. So I just let myself fall on my back, making the most of my bed's lingering warmth.

«Oh no, you don't! You promised to meet up with Anna today and I'm not making all the deliveries by myself. »

That certainly made the last bits of morning drowsiness and comfort disappear. Indeed, my insides were tied up in cold knots at the very idea. Man, I did not want to face her again, but a promise was a promise, and with her, broken promises meant broken bones.

Seriously, the last time she went into real hysterics and I spent two weeks in a hospital bed. No charges were pressed, likely because I absolutely refused any actions against her. To her credit, she came to visit me and while the underlining tone was not forgiveness, I could feel her guilt at my sorry state.

It was this good motivation that prompted me to get up, eat up, get changed and start our day of work.

Everything went well, Blackthorn City, for a city with the last gym in the circuit, was surprisingly small and quiet. It was in great parts due to its location in the mountains, where access was difficult and the local wild pokémon were strong.

It really bugged me that Martin had to fend off them by himself, while I sat in the sidelines that he was done, hopefully not getting injured. There was nothing I could do, neither Dora nor Levys could measure up to them.

Still, my unease at this memory was nothing compared to the one I felt while waiting in front of the gym for someone to _finally_ open the door.

Sensing the tension that inhabited me, Martin gently patted my back.

«Hey, it's fine, cub. Few manage to get to this place. So what if you didn't? » He said in a commendable effort to cheer me up, but it did not work.

«…C-can you just make them sign for me? I'm… not feeling… well. » I grimaced, turning to him.

With a sorry smile, he nodded and I left him behind.

_Never made it past the fourth gym, huh? You never managed to hit the ghosts, even when you broke your own promise and tried to get Dora to do the work. And you wonder why Anna was so pissed with you?_

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

_Oh, who are you kidding? Not Martin, not Anna, not Allan, not Mom, not even yourself. So, who are you trying to kid here? Huuum?_

I had to find a way to punch mental voices. There _had_ to be a way, somehow, somewhere.

I stopped near the middle of the city, close to a market place. It was buzzing with activity and seemed like an all-around nice place, but I kept focusing back on my days as a trainer. None of it made me very happy.

«Hey, » Anna's voice cut right through any other coherent thought I might have had.

«Anna! » I said with a smile.

«Nice to see you too. » She rolled her eyes, a very discreet upward twitch of her lips followed, not escaping my perceptive eyesight. Just like the fact that she had truly grown to be a beautiful young woman. Luckily, Martin's influence had rendered my capacity to blush at a minimum, only triggered by _truly_ embarrassing instances.

«Careful, I might think you are still bitter over last time, » I taunted, which seemed to be a very bad idea. See, Anna's body language screamed anger for a brief second. Then again, it was _Anna_, so I was the only person to notice in a twenty kilometer radius.

«Charming as always, Captain Liar. » She sat down gracefully, motioning to the empty place on the bench, next to her.

I grimaced again, a hollow feeling starting to grow near my stomach.

«How are you doing? » She asked, tone deceptively light and neutral.

«Oh, you know, the usual, traveling with Martin, rude customers that grumble all the time about how they should get a psychic the next time they want something and all that crap. »

For once, her brows creased together, but not at anything I did. I could tell she was more annoyed at those people I just described.

«The nerves of people these days… » She whispered.

«Eh, don't mention it. » I shrugged. «What about you? Have you finally decided if you wanted to challenge the Elite Four? »

At that, her eyes lost some light and she looked down.

«Well… I said I would wait for you, but you don't seem to have changed your mind… » Her voice trailed off and again, I felt a squeeze at my heart.

I knew it was painful for her, to have to break her own promise. It probably went against her very moral fiber. It was my fault, of course, but I just could not…

It was impossible for me to become the champion. I just did not have what it takes. It had been better to just give up and let life take me somewhere else. That was fine. Things had taken a sense of normalcy and a few variables in my life had remained constant. Martin was Martin, Anna was Anna, Mom was Mom and so on.

Still, it always hurt to know how much I hurt _her_ for my own failures.

«I guess I was too optimistic. You were just… one of the few I could trust not to break your promises with me. » Anna's voice was wavering now and for the first time, I thought I might see her cry.

No… no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't cry! It's MY fault, MY dreams that were crushed, you shouldn't cry, Anna! You… you told me why you don't cry anymore! I-I can't be the one to make you cry now!

«…At least, Allan kept his end of the bargain… » She continued, this time sounding like a dreadful accusation.

«THAT'S RIGHT, DUDE! »

What?

I quickly turned, noticing somewhere in the back of my mind that Anna had not bulged an inch from her own position.

«Allan? » I tilted my head, staring at my other best friend, who was sporting hair as blonde as mine.

«In the flesh, Captain! » He grinned, crossing his arms across his chest, smug.

«Aren't you supposed to be…? »

«In the Champion's Room? » He cut me. «Yeah, that's right. I should be, considering that _I_ am the Champion. » He leaned forward, an incredibly teasing tone carrying his words to me.

«Yes. I know. » I gritted my teeth and my hands formed fists.

«And what can the Champion do? » Allan asked. «Anything! » He opened his arms wide, as if to embrace the whole city.

My eyes met Anna's and a silent agreement confirmed that we were both equally annoyed with his antics.

«That's right! I can do what I want, pass new laws and stuff. Which is why I declared today to be Disco Day! »

I blinked.

The sky darkened, like a light bulb to popped, instantly. To complement this, rays of colored lights were shot from the clouds, creating _exactly_ the same atmosphere as that of an old night club.

«I guess that since it's the law… » Anna sighed, standing up, now wearing a glittery silver outfit and _an afro wig_.

My jaw dropped, staring at the abomination that was now in front of me. By that, I mean the whole population of Blackthorn City sporting similar outdated outfits, dancing on disco music with Allan, with some lyrics being among the lines of me being a complete failure.

_Then_, I felt something tug at my leg and I looked down. Dora was looking up to me, carrying a dozen baby woopers, and Levys seemed happy to hop on the disco beat.

My quagsire opened her mouth and I just _knew_what she was about to do. Indeed, Dora's voice was spectacularly guttural and just a little bit demonic. «By the way, I ate your bed. »

* * *

«GAH! » I screamed, hitting the ground hard with a thud that exploded to my ears.

Panting very heavily, I took in the feeling of the cold floor of my room, staring eyes wide at the darkness. I could not make out anything besides my pajama, who was exactly like I remembered it to be.

Blue, blue, blue. With a side of blue and more blue.

It was not like Martin's uniform, I was not a delivery man, I was not sixteen (yet), I had not completely failed on my journey to becoming champion. It would be fine, it would be fine, it would be fine.

Repeat the mantra and calm down.

The shivering, half-sobbing, half-panicking mess that I was took a long time to calm down. I had no way to calculate the time, but it seemed to never want to end. Worst yet, my mind could not stop contemplating the nightmare I just had. Bare from its very silly ending, it was genuinely terrifying, through the simple manifestation of a fear I dared not face.

I did not climb back into my bed, I did not wake up Martin to talk and I did not approach either of my sleeping pokémon with my problems.

No, I simply slip on my shoes and put on a jacket. I also took my backpack, more as a habit than for a rational reason, then, as quietly as possible, I got out of the room and, in a matter of minutes, the pokémon center.

The streets were completely silent, fittingly, might I add. Really, I wanted nothing less than to hear voices right now. I could still remember vividly the ones that called me a failure, a loser, a pitiful kid and so much more.

It was better not to hear anything, because that way, I knew none of them were reals. I knew my mind would twist real words into insults in my current state of mind.

Sure, at least my imagination could not make them hurl tomatoes at me, but that was pretty much my only comfort.

I wondered like this for a while, letting the streets lights guide my way. I had no destination in mind, though I probably ought to return to the pokémon center soon. The problem was the perspective of going back to sleep terrified me; it was as if a beast had his claws against my throat and my state of consciousness was the only thing holding its paw.

It was with these kinds of imagery that I made it to the outskirts of the city, near the power central. Frankly, I had not seen it before and the sight was something to behold, even more so when it was partially hidden by the night.

The structure was very imposing, surrounded by a metallic fence that seemed solid enough to fend off common pokémon and humans alike. A few towering pylons seemed to light up at my approach, but that probably was my mind playing games with me.

Except it really flashed again.

«Huh? »

Pushed by my curiosity, I rushed forward, to see that there was indeed some flickering going on. Was there a power outage going on?

I turned around, realizing that even some of the street lights seemed to be giving out less light than before.

Shouldn't there be someone taking care of that problem? Or this being the middle of the night meant that no one was there to fix it?

I grabbed some of the wire netting and narrowed my eyes, trying to see through the darkness that surrounded the central.

Just then, as my scrutiny bore no result, a scream of pain, distinctively non-human, pierced through the otherwise silent night.

My heartbeat accelerated and I started glancing around, trying to locate the source of that cry.

I did not see it, but what I did find was a gaping hole in the fence, a few meters away from my position and large enough to let a child or a scrawny teen pass. My backpack found its way onto the ground in the next second, the moment I realized it was too big to be precise.

Crouching down, I acted on instinct and crawled through the hole to make my way to the other side of the fence.

As I stood up, dusting some dirt off my arms and face, I heard another cry.

«Crap, where is it? » I muttered, starting to run.

What caught my attention next was a sparkling noise and some weak lights on my far left.

There! I could make out the shapes of several little creatures, surrounding an unknown silhouette on the ground.

I changed directions toward the group, with my hand instinctively going to my belt for my pokémon, both of which were still peacefully sleeping in the pokémon center…

Oh Mew…

I picked up the next best thing, a piece of broken marble, and threw it, all the while screaming as loudly as I could.

It worked. What I now identified as a bunch of pichus fled at the aggressive noise and scattered when they heard a much bigger-than-them human arrive. They were used to the central's employees and their ground type, or so I learned later, and did not feel like getting a beating. Besides, they had thought the intruder its lesson. It probably would not try to stumble into their territories again.

Unaware of their thoughts, I only labeled them as freaking pests and knelt down to the injured pokémon.

«Kiiiiid…» it whined weakly.

An elekid. Those annoying little critters had ganged up on another electric type? For some reason, it sounded wrong in my mind, especially since it did not seem like a powerful elekid, or even all that old.

My first reflex was to reach for the biggest bite mark I could see, right on its shoulder. My second was to jump backward at the static shock I had received.

Perceiving that its savior had distanced itself, it let out a panicked whimper that melted my heart into gooey slime. There was no way I'd let a young injured pokémon alone in this state.

I tried to touch it again, with the firm intent to bring it back to the pokémon center with me. The shock was inevitable and it was painful, but the poor elekid's eyes expressed much more suffering than I received anyway. I slipped another hand under its body, trying my best to ignore the shock that went through my arm.

Entirely on reflex, I let go and retracted my arms. They felt numb.

Crap… where was the security? Shouldn't there be some? I needed help to help this elekid! If I could not touch it longer than a few seconds, what could I…?

I froze, struck by providence.

The ultraball! I had completely forgotten about it! It was still in my backpack!

My hands quickly went to my back… and found nothing. I had left my backpack near the fence.

I frantically stood up and started running, hearing a terrified cry from the baby pokémon behind me.

«Don't worry! I'm coming back! » I yelled, trying to spot the exact place where I had left my things.

My head was empty, save for that goal I had given myself.

There was no hesitation in my movements and I still surprised myself whenever I recalled I had the brilliant idea to grab a potion or two as I crawled on the ground again.

The trip back to the elekid took even less time than that, seeing as I was sprinting like crazy. In my mind, powered by pure adrenaline, each second was precious.

I knelt down again next to the little electric type, who gave a startled «elekid!» when it heard me.

«Shhh, it's okay. I'm going to help you, » I whispered hastily, opening the bottle containing the potion.

It took it with a weak protest, but it calmed down afterward. A second later, the ultraball fell on it and it was absorbed without resistance. I picked it up even before it stopped shaking. I knew it was too weak to escape capture anyway. At least now I had a mean to get it back to the pokémon center.

As I rushed in the darkness, it occurred to me that my dream had ceased haunting me for the moment. Even when my self-esteem plummeted and I doubted my capacity as a trainer, there were still things I could _and_ _would_ do.

I just had to find them.


	19. No good deed goes unnoticed

**No good deed goes unnoticed**

«Let us summarize your situation, shall we? » Her voice rang low, but carried far enough, her facial traits obscured by the light behind her. It reminded me of that unfortunate incident in which I was kept in a police station for interrogation. Of course, I was the victim back then, not the criminal, so there was this difference now too.

Yeah, frankly, it made me uneasy enough to squirm, just to concentrate less on Nirvana's voice. This kind of feeling, from being in the company of a Nurse Joy to boot, had to be in a whole new order of surreal.

«You came here, in the middle of the night, after going outside for a walk, urging my chansey to alert me and start treating a badly injured baby pokémon. » She crossed her arm, giving me the impression she was staring flatly. «And this is all because you happened to find him, in that state, after it was attacked by a bunch of pichus. »

Hum… maybe I should start practicing my story-telling abilities a bit more.

Then again, it had been a very frantic moment, what's with me rushing through the glass doors, nearly running right _into_ them before they could slide out of the way. Afterward, it was me trying desperately to find Nurse Joy, who seemed to have gone to sleep. It did not help that this place's chansey seemed a bit more clueless than the norm.

Point is, after rapidly retelling the events of the night, I had let her take the elekid's pokéball and followed her into the emergency room… until she kicked me out.

After _that_, I had slumped down into a chair, just trying to sort the events of the night in a rational order.

For what seemed like hours (while it actually was _an_ hour), I had stayed there, fighting the sleepiness that was slowly crawling back under my skin. As time passed, it became harder to focus on rational thoughts, leading me to blink and doze off.

Until I heard a very misplaced cheerful bell ring and the door to the operation room opened.

«Good news, » Nurse Joy had started with a smile. «The elekid will be fine. I treated all his wounds for infection and placed him under surveillance for malnourishment. If everything goes well, he will be perfectly healthy in a few days at most. »

Hearing that made me smile a genuine, hopeful and – dare I think it? – prideful smile.

I helped. For once, my actions did not lead to a disaster, far from it.

«Now, to take care of the other Donfan in the room… » she added with a thoughtful expression.

I saw her lose her gentle disposition, her whole body language starting to become rigid. «Will you please follow me? I'd like to ask you a few questions and you'd be more comfortable there. »

Truth to be told, that last part had turned out to be a total and utter lie. I was not comfortable in the slightest right now.

Who would be, in my situation? Seriously, I was sitting in a tiny chair, on the end of a gray table, in a gray room, with a lamp shining too much light in my face so I could barely make the shape of my interlocutor, who seemed Reverse World bent on reenacting a bad cop movie.

«Where are you going with this? » I asked, frowning.

«It strikes me that tonight's events are not only highly unlikely, but they remind me of some scenarios I have seen before. » Her tone was wary now and I found myself wondering _what _kind of scenarios she was referring to. The way she sighed next tipped me off. It was heavy, as if she did not want to do that, which started to scare me. «Such a young pokémon should not be bearing wounds that severe. I have met new trainers that made the mistake, and _thought_ nothing of it, of pushing their pokémon too hard. »

Did… did she just imply what I thought she did?

I was rendered speechless.

«I _have_ to know. Did you really find that elekid injured like that? Or was he wounded when you were training and you did not dare show up immediately afterward when you realized how bad it was? »

It was like I had been sucker punched. Right in the guts. _Real hard._

«H-how c-c-could you think tha-?»

«I have seen it before, » she replied evenly, never faltering or hesitating. «Sometimes, new trainers don't understand quite well the limits of a new pokémon, especially if it's young. Sometimes they think of training programs that are too harsh and can't see it as _wrong._ »

I lost my voice completely, feeling all colors drained out of my face.

«For example, my cousin told me of a trainer with a chimchar that held interest toward its ability Blaze. In order to learn how to control it, he had taken to having the rest of his team attack that chimchar until it went berserk. »

I was going to throw up. Seriously. And this room did not look like it contained any wastebasket. However, something else was starting to pierce through my illness.

Indignation. Anger. Fury.

«How _dare _you?! » I spat venomously. «HOW DARE YOU?!»

I stood up, slamming both my hands into the table HARD.

It boomed, visibly startling Nurse Joy. In the otherwise silent room, the noise had literally exploded and it seemed to me like her ears were ringing.

«I SAVED THAT ELEKID'S LIFE! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF ABUSE?! »

It took so much control not to lunge at her. I could see the images of that battered, bruised, _injured_ elekid in my mind, replaying over and over again. His cries of pain and desperation echoed endlessly and fed my fury.

She thought _I_ had inflicted that on a _baby_ pokémon?!

«I can't believe you, » I muttered, low and as quietly as possible. I had no idea on whether she had heard me or not. It did not matter either way.

I just walked up to the door, not trusting myself to stay here any longer and not become violent. It would be really stupid of me to prove her point.

«I'm traveling with Martin, you know? You think he'd let me get away with that? » I knew he wouldn't. Just imagining him discovering that sort of behavior from me…

He'd look sad, not even all that angry. It would probably be a very quiet reaction, to contrast with his usual, over the top, antics.

_You're not my little brother._

…Arceus… That stung so much worse than I thought it would. For a moment, my chest constricted painfully at the words, even when I knew they weren't real. Did his opinion of me mattered that much?

«Do not leave yet, please. » Nirvana interrupted my thoughts, closing her eyes with a pained expression on her face, no longer hidden by the light.

Still dazed by my treacherous imagination, I had half a mind to ignore her request completely and she must have sensed it, because she immediately added this.

«Your elekid was traumatized. He needs a trainer that will care. I-I just had to be _sure._»

I stopped dead in my track, frozen where I stood.

«Hum… he's not _my_ pokémon. » I squirmed, uncomfortable with this misunderstanding.

Because, no, it had not crossed my mind that I had indeed _caught_ yet _another _pokémon and that Anna was going to kill me dead, deader than dead and then bring me back just for the added kick of killing me deader than deader than dead.

Yup, that sounded like her kind of thorough.

«What? » She blinked, comically might I add.

Not that I felt like laughing, except perhaps a nervous laugh.

«I told you. I just found that elekid and wanted you to heal him. » I pointed out, an uneasy grimace on my lips.

«You captured it. » She frowned, staring at me intensively now.

«Yes, because I could not touch it without getting shocked. » I waved a hand that I pretended had gone numb.

«And you did not intend to train him at all? » Okay, that was either sarcasm or skepticism. For some reason, Nirvana really made it hard to tell those two apart at this point.

«No. I planned to release him as soon as he was better. »

I was not getting trapped like this. I had a promise to keep!

«You can't do that. » Her eyes betrayed distress and something gripped my guts in a cold embrace.

«W-what? »

«He's too young. Your elekid…» No… she had to stop calling him that. If I started getting attached to him now… «… put mildly, will die if you release it. »

Oh crap. I was doomed. And how the heck was that «_put mildly»?!_

«Certain species of pokémon have their young become independent very early in their lives. » Nurse Jot was using a softer tone now, perhaps to prevent me from leaving. «It is the case, among others, of the elekid evolutionary line. The parents will let their baby to fend for itself after but a few seasons. This was the case for the elekid you have brought here. »

I swallowed the little saliva I had left. Why did she bother beating around the bushes like that? Why couldn't she just say the words and doom me already?!

«During that period, the baby pokémon will form its personality. It is _crucial_ for its development that it lives by itself, without interference from its parents... or any outsiders at all, really. »

I closed my eyes, now resigned to my fate. It did not, however, prevent me from contemplating the sweet, sweet idea of knocking myself unconscious by bashing my head into the wall.

«If one were to help it, the baby pokémon will latch onto that being as a parental figure and will lose its capacity toward independence. In short, by saving that elekid, you made him see you as its new parent. »

Arceus, why do you torture me so?

Wait a minute…

I suddenly turned to Nirvana, my new hope filtering through my every feature.

«Hey! If it latches onto _anyone_ that helps, wouldn't it consider you its mom as well? »

She looked away and I prepared myself for another mental blow.

«Yes. That elekid will remember that I healed him and would likely latch onto me just as it would with you. » At that part, she bit her lips. Really, this whole delicacy about softening blows and slowly revealing the information was just another way to torment me. I _had_to find what I had done in another life to be treated like this. Did I blow up an amusement park? «The only problem is that I no longer have the funds to raise a pokémon in here. There have been too many cuts in our budget recently. »

Again with those cuts?! Why did the training government keep doing that?!

I knew the answer to that question and some pictures of young trainers floated in my head, making me shiver.

«At this point, I have no choice but to ask you to take care of that pokémon. In other circumstances, it would be probably for the best to just send him to a breeder, but I'm afraid he would not overcome the mental scars from the attack. »

Oh to the Reverse World with it. I knew the second that idiot shoved the ultra-ball in my hands that I was going to get another pokémon. It was just a matter of where and how, really.

«Where is he? » I asked in a whisper, losing all will to fight the inevitable.

* * *

«Man, I had the weirdest night, yesterday. You would not believe it. »

Ah yes, everyday had to start with Martin saying something absolutely _cringe worthy_, which is precisely why I winced in supreme annoyance.

It did not help it that Martin had dragged me in the cafeteria and shoved a bowl of cereals in my hand before carrying me to a random table.

I was too tired for this stuff, not to mention that I wanted toasts!

I glared weakly, but Martin probably interpreted it as morning grumpiness, which, to be fair, was in grand part just that.

«Is that so? » I grumbled, picking up a spoon without conviction.

«Oh yeah, » he said with an alarmed expression (totally fake, everyone could tell). «I dreamt that I was eating this giant fluffy marshmallow and when I woke up, my pillow was gone. » He held his hands in front of him, as if denying any part he may have played in this incredible drama.

«Liar, I saw your pillow this morning, » I said.

«I'm not lying. » He gave me the growlithe eyes, his lips almost quivering for added effect.

My answer was to give him a _flat_ look and not give up the staring contest.

«Well, there were parts missing, » Martin amended.

I kept staring.

«I munched it a little… » his voice trailed off.

Still staring.

«Alright, alright, I drooled all over it! » Martin pouted. I nodded smugly and chose to rub salt all over the wound.

«And what is today's lesson? » I asked, with a childish glee that exists only in educational toddlers' programs.

«That telling the truth is good! » Martin stood up, arms high and a grin on his face.

I might have giggled, sincerely, at that. _Might_. Do not misinterpret this.

There might have been a few trainers and other pokémon-related professionals staring our way with incredulity and/or amusement, but to my surprise I did not care (lack of sleep and prolonged exposure to Martin tended to do that to me).

Content with himself, he sat back, relaxed and leaning his cheek on one hand. His eyes shone with curiosity and mockery.

«Speaking of truth, you were not there when I woke up. In fact, you did not spend much of the night in our room. So… could you please share up your whacky adventure with me? I want to start the day on a good note! » He grinned and ruffled my hair.

I only shot him a death glare.

«What makes you think the adventure I had was whacky?! » I mumbled, indignant.

«Because it's you, my lil' teddybro. But since you did not deny you had an adventure last night… » He leaned closer, but left his voice die out by itself. Not that he was fooling anyone. I was pretty certain even the random electrode that had rolled next to us knew exactly what Martin was trying to get at.

I grimaced, because there was no way to hide it when I would be traveling with him anyway. So… like a Band-Aid? A painful and short moment.

Go!

«Iwokeup'causeofanightmareanddecidedt otalkawalkoutsideandfoundane lekidthatIcan'tgetridoforhe'lldieandthat'sthat.»

Martin blinked. I blushed.

«Huh? »

Crap, too fast, missed the Band-Aid and pulled a bit of skin. It hurt and I had to start over again… Man, at this point, I ought to bang my head against a nearby wall and pass out. It had been _that_ stupid.

«I said that I went out to talk a walk and stumbled upon this. » I started again, dropping my elekid's pokéball on the floor.

There was a pale flash of light, erupting from the item and taking a small roundish shape, before the form of my new pokémon was defined.

I probably could have just whipped out my Ultra Ball in front of him and be done with it. I bet he would have understood in the second anyway. He was the «Bright Fool», as they had called him. A fitting name. He was smart and stupid at the same time.

Kind of like me now that I thi-

NO!

«Kid? » The baby pokémon on the ground said with confusion, until his eyes fell on Martin.

Just then, he froze, body tense and eyes widening.

My traveling companion noticed it too, slowly distancing himself from the small pokémon, possibly to help it calm down.

A very often ignored corner of my mind was kind of touched by that simple gesture, telling me that he really was as cool as Damian made him to be.

As I said, it _was_ a _very, __very _often ignored part of my brain.

«Elekid! »

That cry of panic brought me out of my reverie. Oh, and the instantaneous shock and numbing of my right leg helped too.

My elekid had ran behind me to hide, grabbing said leg and his body charged with static electricity had done the job of bringing a tear or twelve to my eyes.

I was shocked, but not surprised. Nirvana had predicted it.

* * *

The pokéball opened, guided by the hand of the nurse. Instantly, the baby pokémon had leapt out, but was absolutely lost. He had let out a few startled whimpers, before sniffing the air once or twice.

The panic seemed to dissolve and it rushed for Nirvana's legs to get a hold of them (I was not jealous!). She flinched, but other than that, she simply leaned down and picked him up with a pair of rubber gloves.

The little pokémon seemed to glower with happiness and it melted my heart once more. As if the little thing had not succeeded a hundred times that night already.

She smiled back at the elekid, but there was a lingering sadness to her voice.

«Hello, little one. Are you well? »

«Kiiiid! » He exclaimed, throwing his arms up and smiling back.

«I am glad, » she whispered. «Do you recognize him? »

The electric type turned to me, squirming uncomfortably when reminded of the presence of another being in the room (but the Chansey did not disturb him, why?).

For a second, I dreaded he would fear me. That he would try to get away from me. What would happen to him then? Nurse Joy said that he could not be kept in the center. They no longer had the means for that.

However, when he saw me tentatively offering a nervous grin, he let out an enthusiastic «Kiiiiiid».

I was not aware that I had let out a sigh of relief right away. Even if I had been, it would have been blown away by Nurse Joy's next words.

«This is going to be your new dad, » she said.

It was my turn to utterly panic, sweat and shake in my boots, then widen my eyes and restrain from throwing up.

I was too young and too cute to be the ten-years-old daddy of an electric type pokémon!

Nirvana was not convinced, neither was the elekid.

Oh Arceus, why hath thou forsaken me?!

* * *

So, indeed, it had not been a surprisethat he had recognized Martin as a dangerous foe and hid accordingly. I supposed I ought to be proud of him for that. Good boy.

«Hum… » The delivery man was at a loss for words.

I couldn't tell _why_, but this struck me as odd. I would have expected him to be either hyperactive or super worried.

«Well? » I asked, impatient. His silence was killing me.

Oh for the love of… What have I thought?!

Martin only looked puzzled though. «Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there a promise you made to a certain young lady about not catching pokémon on your journey? »

Ah yes, there was also this part of the ordeal that would no doubt prove hazardous.

A cold shiver went down my spine.

No, I did not spend five minutes imagining Anna doing horrible, horrible things to a poor little handsome guy like me. I _did_ however fight the urge to immigrate to Unova. Funny how things go sometimes.

«I see…» Martin grinned slyly. «Need a bodyguard for the next time you meet her? »

YES!

«No, I don't think so… » I replied easily, shrugging nonchalantly.

Mew, why did I have the feeling he could see through my lies? He was just staring knowingly, with a light of _something_ in his eyes and he was obviously restraining himself from saying some nonsense.

Put like this though…it was not a bad thing.

«Alright, alright, I'll let you face your «girl friend», alone, without support, just like you ask. »

I grimaced.

«Onto other things, » Martin continued with ease, «what's his – or is it her? – name? »

I… hadn't thought of that yet.

I shot a look at the very timid elekid attached to my leg (which was still very numb, thank you for asking). Said pokémon looked up, visibly unsure of how to react so close to a stranger, human nonetheless.

«I honestly don't know… » I sighed half-heartedly and decided to sit down before I fell down in a humiliating fashion.

Selfish as it was, I was tired and I could not exactly think straight long enough to find a good name for him. I mean, it's not like I could just choose something and be done with it. It was his _name,_ something he would have to respond to all his life... and the fact that he seemed to consider me as a parental-figure made me that much more anxious about it.

«Can I offer a suggestion? » He leaned forward, making my elekid jolt.

«Will you stop that?! You're scaring my youngest pokémon! » I pushed him backward and he stumbled backward into his seat.

«Huh… » He stared after this sudden outburst. «That was grumpier than your usual, lil' teddy. »

I was _tired_! Sue me.

«But yes, you can. » I mumbled, hand posed to stroke my elekid's back. I stopped when I remembered the static electricity he was covered in.

«Wattson, » he declared.

«Wattson? » I repeated, dumbfounded.

He nodded with a smile.

«Like… the son of watt? And how did you know he's a boy anyway? » I tilted my head sideward, trying to remember if I had somehow mentioned it.

Distantly, I was rolling the word over and over in my head, discovering that I liked the sound of it. It was kind of catchy and it seemed _appropriate_.

«I didn't until now. Also, it's more like Wattson, the bumbling chubby sidekick of the great detective Sherla Helmet. That was my favorite TV show when I was a little cub like you. » He laughed sincerely, without mockery.

He received a flat look for his trouble.

«I'll stick with my first interpretation of the name, thank you very much. » I turned to my elekid – Wattson, I told myself – who was looking up to me with the cutest pair of growlithe eyes ever.

My heart melted into gooey goo and I smiled.

Wattson smiled back and the rest of my vital organs followed suit in their liquefaction.

It took all my willpower not to start cooing. Martin was watching after all.

«I will call you Wattson. Do you like it? » I said, restraining myself from sounding anything but cool, aloof and nice.

It was a weird mix, but it did not matter. Wattson just jumped a few times on his feet, enthusiastic from the looks of things.

«Looks like Dora will have competition on your team as for the title of the cutest pokémon ever. » Martin snickered, a good natured grin on his face, and he ruffled my hair.

Dumbfounded, I contemplated his words. The cutest? But they were both the cutest in their own ways! Just like Levys was by far the most awesome magikarp ever, Dora was the princess quagsire and a cute bully. How would Wattson enter that equation, I had no idea.

«I suppose they haven't met yet, champ? » He raised his mug of coffee, finally able to drink without coughing it up.

«No, » I said simply.

Wattson, seemingly realizing the changes in my voice, let out a worried «Kiiiiid?» and scooted closer to me.

The sharp pain in my leg was promptly ignored in the face of a much more pressing predicament. Wattson's eyes were watering dangerously.

I blinked.

Crap! What do I do?! What do I do?

It was the first time one of my pokémon would cry! Levys was just that cool and Dora would sooner die a horrible death than cry, especially in front of me. H-how do you comfort a little kid that wants to cry because you're not all sunshine and rainbows?!

«Cub, » Martin said, without looking up from a list of some sorts. «Give him that. And smile. A lot. »

I picked up the bowl of pokeblocks subconsciously, my brain running too fast to register any of the mundane stuff.

Put down the bowl. Say it's for him. Smile. Smile. Smile.

«Here you go! » I declared loudly, very loudly (and cheerfully, at least).

Wattson froze, Martin looked up from his list, a dozen trainers turned toward me and the resident chansey stared.

«I bet you're hungry, it's good. Yum yum. » I blurted out quickly, before sinking back into my seat with an epic blush across my cheeks.

I put my head into my palms, groaning. I really had to learn how to _under_react to some forms of stress. If any of them knew about Martin (which I had learned was very likely), then my own reputation would only be cemented as his eccentric little brother.

The coolest champion… no one would ever call me that…

«Elekid! »

I looked down, where my new pokémon was holding a pokeblock toward me, seething happiness.

There was a second when my chest heated up, warmth spreading over at this simple gesture.

I grabbed the pokémon treat and, under his eager gaze, ate it, making a show of enjoying it thoroughly. While it tasted absolutely horrible, it was worth it seeing Wattson throwing his arms up in the air, adorable in every way.

I couldn't stop a tender smile to show up on my lips, just as my self-preservation instinct did not stop me from petting and stroking Wattson's fur.

«Hum… cub, pokéblocks are going to make you throw up. » Martin broke the magic (of course he would).

It was apparently very true, because my stomach protested and I felt myself pale.

But even as I bolted for a bathroom, I told myself it was worth it for my pokémon. It would always be.

* * *

«Now that your typical lack of luck has acted, we can safely assume you will not be crushed by a snorlax until two in the afternoon. » Martin grinned, taking in the morning sunlight in stride.

I punched his ribs for that.

«Ouch, violence, lil' teddy. That's bad. » He snorted, massaging his hurting sides.

«Tch, so is your very being. You don't hear me complaining, » I retorted moodily.

«Awww, I love you too. » He lifted me up in _yet another_ bear hug, from which I desperately struggled to escape. Key word being «struggled».

Curse my soft and defenseless pre-teen body!

«Where do you see the love?! » I protested and proceeded to viciously bite his thick jacket-covered shoulder.

«Totodiles babies express their love by trying to bite off the limbs of their parents with their cute little jaws full of sharp teeth. Kind of just like you, right now. » He cheerfully lifted me higher, throwing me off balance and dropping me on the attacked shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

…I hated being compared to veggies…

Giving up all will to fight, I relaxed into his (this is me shivering, just so you know) _embrace_ and just sighed.

«Let me gooooo, » I whined without energy (Sleep! I needed SLEEP!).

«What's the magic words, champ? » He smiled again, carrying three boxes under one arm, me on his left shoulder and deciding that the best course of action was to start _moving._

We, surprisingly, did not fall on the ground in the first few steps.

«Shazam, » I said flatly.

«True, but not the ones I'm looking for. » He went past a very traditional looking theater which seemed to be holding some sort of spectacle.

For some reason, it caught my eyes. I had the feeling that place was… mystical? I couldn't quite tell, it was very vague and, as far as impressions go, that was not the best I had in a long time.

«Oh, the dancing kimono ladies? » Martin chipped in, noticing my interest (At the angle he was? One word: freaky.). «They're pretty sweet. I think we might get a chance to see them later. Interested? »

«…Yeah, it could be fun. » I nodded, though my heart skipped a beat at the idea of owing Martin another favor. «Oh, and I'm no-»

«Cool, I already bought tickets for that yesterday. » He cut me off.

ARCEUS! I was never going to win against him, was I?

A big brother's privilege, my mind told me.

After I proceeded to mentally _kick my mind in the nuts_ and say «screw you!», I broke free from Martin's Elite Four level grasp.

«Hey! I never heard the magic words! » The delivery man pouted.

«Not my problem! » I stood up, feeling rejuvenated by my actions of greatness. He eyed me with a smile, for some obscure reason only known to him.

«Right, champ. » He rearranged his boxes in his arms. «Are you going to challenge Morgana today? »

I glared.

«No? Lots of training then? »

I rolled my eyes. «I want Levys to evolve before challenging Morgana. He won't be able to touch her at all otherwise. »

«That sounds like a surprisingly sensible choice as a trainer. » He smiled.

Oh, he did NOT imply what I just thought he did.

I frowned, crossed my arms and grunted.

«Well, it does not matter what YOU think, » I yelled, stomping away from him.

Me? Not sensible as a trainer? Why? Because I ONCE let out an inexperienced pokémon against a gym leader for her first battle? Or because I ran headfirst into a forest and pissed a swarm of beedrill for no reason? Or when I…

Urgh, now I was making my mood worse myself.

I stopped moving.I was probably overreacting. Really, he had not said that. Perhaps, he hit the tauros' eye when he called me a drama queen.

Okay, maturity class 101: realize when you're blowing things out of pro-

I stumbled forward, hit on the back of my head by something spherical. Letting out a yelp of pain, I blinked the tears away and looked down.

A pokéball.

«Sorry, champ! », came the distressed voice of my idiotic big brother. «I didn't think you were going to stop so brutally! »

Zen, karma, calm riverside, flowers and pretty pidgeys singing in chorus with lollipops and rainbows, a peaceful soul in the stream…

«That's Orion's pokéball. Take it with you, just in case! » He shouted, still a good distance away.

To the Reverse World with the stream!

«I don't want your stinking pokémon, Martin! » I threw it back, seething with fury.

I ignored his face full of _hurt_, because the back of my head was equally hurting and I was going to _apologize _for overreacting when he threw a pokéball at me!

I stomped off, for real this time. I did not care that we had not decided on anything like a rendezvous point for the end of the day, nor that I would not have any ways of contacting him without one of his two psychics.

I really just wanted to get some sleep and some respect, but since one was unavailable and unproductive at the moment, I would settle for the other.

* * *

I yawned.

This was harder than I thought.

My eyes were threatening to close already and the sun was still high in the sky.

Not good.

«Kiid?» Wattson tugged on my leg questioningly.

«Magikarp kaaarp, » Levys chipped in, his tone gentle.

All in all, their introduction had been exactly that.

Levys had been floating in his tank, on the floor, while I released Wattson. My youngest pokémon immediately hid behind my leg, shocking me and eying Levys fearfully.

However, I only needed to say «Levys, this is the newest member of our team, Wattson. » to my starter and he instantly started chatting. What Levys told Wattson, I have no idea, never will, most likely.

After all, it was not very diversified.

«Kiid?»

«Karp, karp magikarp karp. »

«Elekid!»

«Magikarp.»

«Elelelekid?»

«Magi magikarp!»

«Elekid kiiiiiiid! »

…Yeah. And after that, Wattson had warmed up enough to Levys to hang out outside his pokéball in the same vicinity. Of course, if any wild pokémon was to appear, Levys had to be the one to start fighting. Wattson was thoroughly terrified of ANYTHING bigger than a joltik.

Considering that species is among the smallest (if not being outright THE smallest) species of pokémon…

…Yeah.

Seeing that he apparently was in danger of cardiac arrest by the simple proximity of wild pokémon, I decided to wisely wait until I had him meet Dora.

Instead, what happened was one long day of training my magikarp and getting my elekid to break out of his shell.

I should have been happy to see his progresses. Levys could smack down the common pokémon in the area with a few well-placed Tackles or Tail Slaps. Even if the "stats" published scientifically described a magikarp's power as lower than that, he managed.

There was a knot in my guts, heavy and growing with each passing hour.

I-I could not tell what it ought to mean, but…

«Kid! » Wattson exclaimed in awe, just as he took a few steps closer to Levys' battle.

What if Levys or his opponent (another goldeen) misfired and hit him by mistake!

«Wattson!» I said and rushed to pull him back (which, in itself, was hard as heck without touching him).

Obviously, Wattson did not see it like that and fought back, even sending a few shocks through my arms.

«Elekid kiiiid kid! » He struggled.

One of his hit got me right in the shin and I stumbled backward, mostly because my leg was now rigid as heck.

To make matters worse, Dora's pokéball fell off my belt when I hit the ground.

«Sire?» She said, materializing right in front of a hysterical elekid.

«KIIIIIIIIID! » Wattson cried and jumped behind my body, only to poke his head shyly over me hips.

«Quagsire?» Dora tilted her head to the side, confused as to this new intruder.

I grimaced and massaged the back of my head, all the while ignoring the shocks Wattson was unknowingly sending through my body. «Dora, that's your new teammate, Wattson. He's very young and timid so be nice. »

Yes, I knew that giving her such a direct order outside of battle could only lead to disaster, but my instinct was dulled by a very persistent desire to go to bed early.

«Kid? » Wattson muttered tentatively.

I eyed my little princess with caution. She seemed in one of her better mood, which in itself was great, but more importantly she was a bit intrigued.

She took a few steps toward him, slowly, almost kindly. She even seemed a bit… motherly?

…That couldn't be right.

Under the assault of a suspicious kindness, Wattson seemed to warm up and let his guard down a little.

«Quagsire?» She asked.

«E-elekid… » My poor little electric type replied very timidly.

I swore, if he did not have fur, his cheeks would have been luminescent.

«Sire?» She pressed further, moving a bit more into his personal space.

…I had a bad feeling about this.

«Kiiiiiid.» He nodded.

I'd like to blame the paralysis on my leg for what happened next or the fact that I was too stunned by the unusual change of attitude from Dora's part. (Both were flimsy excuses, the numbing in my legs was already gone and I was tensed and ready for action.)

However, the true reason would be that I hoped…

«Sire! » She spat out a Mud Bomb in his face.

I watched with horror as my newest pokémon was sent flying right into the river.

«WATTSON!» I screamed and scrambled to my feet.

Oh Mew! Levys and that goldeen had stopped fighting and were being shocked by Wattson's static electricity.

«Kaaaaaaarp! » My starter convulsed in pain and started struggling in the water.

«KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID! » My little baby boy shouted in fear.

I was given wings.

My shoes were lost in seconds and my socks followed suit right afterward. Some pidgey whistle in indignation but, _amazingly_, **I couldn't care less**!

I jumped headfirst, closing my eyes just before the impact.

It was cold, like every river in Johto anywhere at any given time, it seems. I was more concerned by the discharge that painfully went through my whole body!

Crap!

I opened my eyes with the shock and could indistinctively make the shape of my elekid sinking into the darker water.

My heart jumped in my chest. No way! NO FREAKING WAY!

I would have screamed, had I not been underwater. Instead, I put all my energy into reaching him. Levys could survive underwater if he wasn't being constantly shocked. Wattson… oh Mew, I couldn't imagine his fear!

My arms moved forward, almost being flailed at that point, just to _reach_ him. I couldn't…

I had to…

I'd like to say I was submerged with relief when I touched him, but I was shocked so badly I let out a pained gasp.

The bubbles escaped my mouth, eerily making their way upward, leaving us both down into the cold water...

I pulled Wattson closer and fought the blurring of my senses, the growing vertigo and the fire in my lungs.

I kicked. I pushed. The surface still seemed so far.

Man, what I wouldn't give for a little help here…

…Gee, Cosmos, you really are a master of subtlety. Are you trying to make me love Martin's every attempt to help me and become his fanboy?

The worst part was that it was working. I _really _wished I had accepted Orion's pokéball this morning.

Just then, as I struggled, I saw a shadow. Not a big looming one, a small one. It was at most half my size.

It swam gracefully, unaffected by the electric current like every other pokémon in the river.

«D-Dora? » I muttered, dumbly.

I deserved the hit in the stomach that followed. Both because I had been stupid and because the continued pressure pushed me out of the water.

The late afternoon's air greeted us, warm and dry.

I gasped and so did Wattson. It should have felt good to breath. It was just mildly painful.

Dora snorted with disdain and pushed us further closer to the shore with a powerful Water Gun.

I let the smaller current drive us to the shore, too focused on not letting my numb arms drop Wattson, the latter of which was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

I climbed the muddy shore painfully slowly, taking good care not to hurt my youngest pokémon, under Dora's intense scrutiny.

After much trouble, I managed to place him softly on solid ground.

«You okay, Wattson?» I asked, panting heavily.

My eyes were just threatening to close by themselves at this point. I was SO tired.

Wattson jumped on my head and hugged it tightly. Miraculously, he seemed to have emptied any static electricity he could have produced at the moment.

I did my best to smile as I stroke his back blindly.

«Shhhh, it's fine. You're fine, okay? » I said soothingly (I hope).

Then, the mud under me gave in, making me slip slightly. Half my body was back into the river. I stayed still, too tired to fight my way out again.

«Sire? » Dora asked, now swimming a few meters away from us. Something about her body language wasn't just right. It lacked a lot of arrogance and aloofness.

She couldn't be worried, could she?

I smiled warmly her way, hoping my disheveled look would not be subject to her mockery right now. «T-thanks Dora. You're really my precious princess. »

Shocked, her mouth fell and hung in the air, with that very distinct lack of dignity she usually had.

«It was not on purpose. » I patted her head (squishy, mushy, slimy!) gently. «You help repair your mistake. It's fine. J-just apologize to Wattson later, okay? »

She blinked.

For a moment, I was afraid I broke her, the poor girl. Fortunately, she just shook her head and regained her composure. She turned her head away, all dignity again.

«Quagsire, » she said.

«Thanks. » I grinned.

Have I mentioned that this day was one I would remember for most of my journey? No? Well, it's not quite what happened before that got carved in my memory, but rather what was about to unravel itself.

It would have been fine. I got Wattson, he met both my other pokémon. It was a rocky start, but it seemed possible to move it in the right direction.

Perhaps I was too simple-minded, too straight forward, but for a while, that issue was pushed to the back of my mind.

By Levys.

We were all startled when we heard his cry of rage. We were surprised to see him in mid-air. I was shocked to see him, glowing a faint red light, spinning at high-speed.

Dora dove underwater, guessing his trajectory.

She guessed right and it was wise of her to dodge.

Levys hit the surface with his body, not all that far from us.

It was like a snorlax had jumped in.

The shock lifted a frightening amount of water and a small wave threw me on the shore.

I stared with wide eyes, as did Wattson.

_What the Giratina was THAT?! _


End file.
